Saturday, March 30, 2013

Joyful Pictures

Today I had planned to write another obituary for a friend who is terminal, was in a coma, and who was scheduled to be taken off life support today.   But when her husband got to the hospital for that sad event, he found her awake.   This doesn't mean that her diagnosis has changed, but it does mean that this strong-willed woman has decided to go out on her own terms.  She has been moved to the hospice wing of the hospital and the obituary will be written eventually, but not today.

While her impending death is a sad thing to contemplate, her waking is a joyful event. 
Recently, my friend Mary wrote an entry about things that make her happy and since I'm feeling happy about my friends temporary reprieve from the jaws of death, I have been concentrating on feeling happy today.

It's funny how your brain stores such clear pictures of various events in your life.  I flip through the mental scrapbook labeled "Happy Memories" and I come up with an assortment of pictures throughout my life:

- The sight of newborn Jeri plopped onto my abdomen right after birth.  I wrote "she was a lovely shade of blue," and she pinked up real quick.  Each time I gave birth, that first sight of the new baby was wonderful, but Jeri was first and it was special.

- The memory of Tom, about 2-3 years old, dressed in a brown tweed play suit, blonde hair flying, dirty football under his arm, charging through the front door, throwing himself into my lap and saying he needed to nurse.  A couple of "swigs" and he put the football back under his arm again and ran out to join his friends.

- Me sitting on the lawn in front of our house, watching toddler David running up the hill, arms outstretched, and throwing himself into my lap for a hug.

- Seeing Ned going off the 5 meter platform for the first time, landing with a splat on the water, knowing how much it must have hurt and watching him swim the length of the pool to shake off the pain, climb back up and do it again...perfectly the next time.

- Watching Paul in a stage dive at UCD's Whole Earth Festival...and later, watching Walt amaze everyone (except Tom and his friend, who planned it) do a stage dive off the stage at the Davis Art Center during the concert that was dedicated to Dave's memory.

- Standing in the "lower lobby" of the Lamplighters theater watching soprano June Wilkins cutting one of the three sheetcakes I had made for her.   The Lamplighters were not doing anything to acknowledge her retirement and I talked them into making it a big deal.  June never knew, nor did most other people, that I had made the cakes, but it's still one of my favorite big smile moments.


- Sitting in Gilbert Russak's apartment, watching him sitting, cross-legged on the floor, "conducting" the recorded orchestra while painting a mental image for me of Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel."

- Watching Walt walk onto the stage for his 50th Birthday party, surrounded by 100 or so of his best friends, the culmination of a year of planning.

- Watching Paul hit the high note in "The Kite" during the production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown that the kids had produced, directed and designed themselves.

- The look on my mother's face at her wedding to her husband Fred.

- Visiting Caversham Park in Western Australia, walking around the kangaroo enclosure, and feeding the roos.

- Sitting in a tree with Peach in my childhood, on our grandparents' property in Inverness, both of us eating apples and baring our souls to each other

- Watching my mother sitting at a table with a bowl in her lap, peeling and slicing apples for a pie.

- Seeing Steve in The Last Session for the first time, in Colorado.

- Listening to the music of Paragon Park which Jeri had arranged, and then meeting the writer and composer of the show. 

- Any of our pumpkin pie escapades

- Traveling with Peggy to Monkey Mia in Western Australia to watch the dolphins cavorting at our feet while we stood in the Indian Ocean.

- All of Ned's videos, especially his birthday videos for Brianna (how's the latest one coming, Ned?)'

It is nice to look back over 70 years and have so many easily remembered high points that make me smile and give me such great joy.

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