living in Unconditional Love (135)
Oct 08, 2023
Living in Unconditional Love (135)
“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.
10/08/2023 On Friday night we had a rainstorm. I woke up about 2 with a leg cramp (part of the joys of aging) and after I had walked it off, I sat on the edge of the bed getting ready to go back to bed, when I felt a drop of water on my head, then another. I turned on the light and saw that the skylight that is over the bed had developed a leak – not a good thing to see at two in the morning and on a Saturday morning at that. I ended up putting pans around to catch the water, as it was dripping rapidly at that point and had peeled a small part of the ceiling plaster off. I found I could rest on the other side of the king-sized bed and be out of the drips. In the morning I called the gentleman who takes care of things for me, and he came over and covered the skylight with a tarp, stopping the water. He will repair it next week when things are dry, and he said he could see where the edge has lifted from the roof and causing a problem. I am sure that the insulation in the ceiling is soaking and will have to be replaced and the water stains and hole will have to be covered.
Always something. But the leg cramp was a good thing, as I caught the leak early. Even for things that are not so good there can be synchronicity. It seems truly amazing that I had time to place pans around on the bed to catch most of it at two in the morning.
Other than that this has been a quiet week, even though I had the company meetings and lunch on Wednesday. These are always enjoyable, and I am always amazed at the progress made in only two weeks. I always spend time chatting with all, and it is good to be still involved even at my age. Keeps me on my toes!
I had a chance to mow the lawn on Thursday before the rain came in on Friday, and with all the rain we have had it is growing like it is spring, not fall. We have had no cold weather, but next week it is supposed to be much more like fall. I don’t see any frost in the forecast, but I will watch closely as it can fool one if not careful. The bonsai can take into the 20s, but I do have my house plants outside, and I will bring them in if there is any chance of frost or even chilly weather, as frost can form even though it is not freezing.
The flowerpots and boxes are at their peak, and are great to see, but it is getting to the time for frost. We have had frost in September before, but it barely got down to the 40s this year in September.
They have not had a chance to start the cement work on the back patio, so that is still a mess. But they did clear the lawn of stuff so I could mow, and it doesn’t look too bad.
Owning a home and being responsible for upkeep is fairly easy unless something breaks – and that seems to happen often. Water line breakage last month and leak in the roof so far this month. I have called the snowplow person and made sure I am on his list, and he assured me all was ready – he had not even removed the plow from his heavy-duty truck, so he is ready to go.
Meditation
Gentle One, I continue to rest in Your presence and am always amazed at the goodness of life, even during the painful moments like the death of Eileen. Your gentle touch has filled my life, despite those times I have rejected that touch and chosen otherwise. I always find Your warm embrace when I need it most and can find peace during moments of sorrow and pain. I am always grateful for that peace I feel during difficult times.
Truly there is always something that needs to be fixed around the house. Lately we feel like we’re in the brokerage business as everything we touch breaks. Minor things, but they do take time and money to repair. Could be worse but hope not so.