Death and the Mundane

I remember special days for departed loved ones. Today would have been my father's 91st birthday. However, he died 11 years ago a few months shy of his 80th. That brought home the truth that we should celebrate each day and not just "landmark" events, such as decades. I had always thought we would have a family celebration for his 80th birthday, but he had a stroke four months earlier and died two weeks after that.

Here is a poem that points to that:

Notice

This evening, the sturdy Levi's
I wore every day for over a year
& which seemed to the end
in perfect condition,
suddenly tore.
How or why I don't know,
but there it was: a big rip at the crotch.
A month ago my friend Nick
walked off a racquetball court,
showered,
got into his street clothes,
& halfway home collapsed & died.
Take heed, you who read this,
& drop to your knees now & again
like the poet Christopher Smart,
& kiss the earth & be joyful,
& make much of your time,
& be kindly to everyone,
even to those who do not deserve it.
For although you may not believe
it will happen,
you too will one day be gone,
I, whose Levi's ripped at the crotch
for no reason,
assure you that such is the case.
Pass it on.

~ Steve Kowit ~

And on to my very ordinary life:

•  I am trying to walk at our local shopping mall each morning, as it is too hot outside here in south Texas. (We are having a long stretch of breaking high temperature records of the high 90s F.) 
• The last time I regularly walked there was when MJ was a baby 22 years go, and I walked around the mall with her in a sling. She and I enjoyed her being in the sling, from the time she was a new baby into toddlerhood.
• Thanks to the conference last week, I am meditating every day, even though it is not always for 20 minutes. I am grateful to our former rector Sandy who taught that even a few minutes is enough in prayer as God will grow the prayer. It is God's prayer, after all.
• For a little over a week I have had a fuzziness in my left eye. Fortunately, my right eye overrules and I can see pretty clearly. However, this makes it more of a chore to read, which is something I usually enjoy doing at any time. This has spurred me on to make an appointment for an eye exam in two weeks, which is ten years overdue.
• I made corn cheese muffins tonight to take to a meeting, since it's always held during dinner time. Chuck complimented me by saying that we need grandchildren around, as he's missed the aroma of freshly baked breads. I used to bake muffins and bread frequently when I had young children at home, and one or another of them would help me. I hope I'll get the opportunity to do that with Avery someday.
• We are reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg in the Wisdom Class at my church, which meets every Tuesday morning (though we'll take the month of August off). It is a very interesting book with excellent research about such events as Rosa Parks becoming the civil rights icon as compared to others who resisted black oppression on buses. Why do we remember her?
• Chuck likes to play Spider Solitaire on my computer, so sometimes he is here and I am not.