Aug 28, 2022

 Living in Unconditional Love (77)

“Love flows from God to humans without effort:

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings-

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul,

Yet separate in form.”

–Mechtild of Magdeburg

 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years to the day that we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill, and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down almost two years, and even though it is abating, I wear my mask anytime I am out among people, unlike many.

08/28/2022                             I am writing this at 5 on Sunday having just returned from a wedding of a grandnephew held at Coney Island, the amusement park in Brooklyn, and will make the journal live at 6, so it will be a bit sloppy and not too long. This week has had its up and down moments. Tuesday was a bit challenging. When I walked into the kitchen in the morning, there was water on the floor by the sink, then when I looked over at the refrigerator there was more water on the floor coming from the refrigerator! The company changing out the faucet was very embarrassed and were there in a couple of hours rather than the two days every other time. A solder joint close to where they had been working has loosened from all their previous work and was dripping. The other leak is in the refrigerator, so I turned off the water line going there (ice and cold water) and someone is coming this Tuesday to repair. A different company. Hopefully it can be repaired. I had noticed that the ice maker was not filling, so something may have frozen.

On Thursday I went to Barbara’s place, and we drove over by Coney Island to a hotel close to the park. We ate in the only good restaurant in the area, (it is an amusement park) a wonderful Italian place with waiters in tuxes. Great food. Then in the morning we drove over to the park and Barbara dropped me off at the gates while she parked her car in a lot close by. The wedding was setup just inside the gate, so I joined many of the family that were already there. Water and fruit cups were available. The wedding started at 9:30. All guests were in shorts or summer clothes. It was very nice, including two “flower boys”, both young men in their 20’s who brought a good laugh by dancing down the white carpet throwing handfuls of dried flowers. It was, indeed, perfect. The bride was in a traditional white gown, and it was great to see. The groom said that he was told that while they have had many weddings, this was the first formal wedding they have ever had.

The reception started at noon, and the park opened to the public at 11. We were all given wrist bands to ride any ride for free all day, so we had an hour with only the wedding guests riding. No, I did not ride any, but enjoyed watching all others. Many rode their famous wooden roller-coaster The Cyclone, several rode more than once. It is a very large park, but The Cyclone was right off the entrance and dominates the scene. The reception was very traditional, except the food was what you expect at an amusement park: hamburgers and hotdogs and salads. It was held in a restaurant in the park under an open but ceilinged place down the boardwalk. It was great to stroll down the boardwalk and look at those at the beach and to see the ocean. Glad that we were covered, as it rained short showers several times. The dancing was out in the open, and the rain did not stop the dancing or whatever they were doing. Mostly it was jumping straight up in the air constantly, not moving from your spot. Looked exhausting, but they were enjoying it greatly.

Lots of fun.

We left right around four and were back at Barbara’s around 6:30. Not bad for a Friday afternoon leaving the City. Janet had just arrived. I stayed until Sunday, and we had a quiet time just relaxing and reading and chatting. We are all voracious readers, so it was nice just to sit in the same room and read.

I am glad that God provides these breaks since I have had several challenging events with my bank, faucet, now refrigerator, and foot problems.

Meditation

Gentle One, You provided a break in my routine when badly needed. I am grateful for guiding me through life, gently pushing me here and there (occasionally not so gently but necessary) to give us the room to grow in love in all we do. It was a joy to see a young couple just starting out on their new life that will grow further along the way. I have been unbelievably blessed throughout my life and I am so grateful for all I have had and will have.