Mar 24, 2024

Living in Unconditional Love (159)

 

“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 after we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill (not COVID), 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. Covid has proved to be a persistent problem, and many of the long-term effects are quite serious, and it has proven much more serious than flu.

03/24/2024                             Happy birthday Madison, who is one today! A delightful little one who seems to take life seriously as the third child. Even though she is quiet and quite an observer, she has become determined and is not afraid to demand her share of whatever is going on.

Winter seems back, as we had very cold (14 degree) weather on several occasions and snow every day all week. It warms up sufficiently to melt most every day, but right now (Saturday eve) I have at least two inches on the deck, and it is 29 on the front deck. Crazy weather times, but this is still March and weather can change quickly. It is supposed to warm a bit next week, but we will see. The deer were out, and one was close to the house trying to find something green under the snow until I wrapped on a window, and it ran away, the white tail flashing. I don’t mind them out in the fields below, but I don’t want them to get used to coming close to the house.

It seems like the month-long trip to Peru was only a dream, something that occurred in a flash and was over just like that. I have stepped back into my routines like they never stopped and so life goes on. I am sleeping more, but I still feel good. I received the latest Covid vaccine this week and am still feeling the effects a bit but that will soon pass.

I find that since I will soon be 90, I am spending time in my memory bank, perusing significant decision in my life (going to college, the job on Long Island, the decision to ask Eileen to marry me, accepting a job in upstate NY, starting our company at age 62, etc.) and coming to a greater acceptance of how fortunate I have been. I do not believe that any of my major decisions have been wrong, with the best of all asking that beautiful Irish girl to be my wife in September 1960. That was the best of all decisions. I strongly believe that God guided these decisions at every turn, and I am profoundly grateful and humbled at the various turns of my life. I am fortunate that I have only one health problem, controlling blood pressure, and I have none of the aches or pains that most of my older friends have.

I am waiting for Spring to arrive once more, as I long for the joy of seeing daffodils and other blossoms in the gardens. But it has been a rather dry winter, and the snow that is falling is good for the soil. The cold not so much, as some of the early bloomers may have been damaged. But that is the excitement of Spring, to see what is glorious and what needs to be augmented.

Meditation

 

Gentle One, that days are flowing by, and life moves quickly. I am humbled and grateful that You have permitted me to live such a long life, and blessed me in so many breathtaking ways, but especially in the family manner. I am awed at all the love I receive and hopefully pass on and am grateful for the opportunity I have been granted.