Goodbye Mom

The sun will rise and set, the moon will wax and wane, the stars will shine, the birds will sing, as we grieve the passing of Valodya's dear, sweet Mom.
We gather and pray and say our goodbyes.
We will miss her dearly.
Mom is gone but as I wipe away the tears and look around me, I realize that she is still here.

Thanksgiving

Lunchtime walk

It doesn't matter what the weather is doing, or where I walk or how far I go. All that matters is that I walk, and think and sometimes I walk without doing too much thinking. I mistakenly thought that if I concentrated on seeing, it would quiet my mind. But even as I'm marvelling at the colours of the chestnuts or breathing in the scent of a rose, my head is filled with swirling thoughts. I let them mix with the colours and perfume and let them be. Just as I need to be reminded of the beauty all around me when I take a lunchtime walk, I also need to remember and say a little prayer for M who will celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday without her husband.

Things I did not buy

The apple of our eye

We 'met' 28 years ago and it's been a wonderful relationship thus far. We adjusted to the going away because we had no choice, we knew as soon as she 'came into the light' that this is what would happen. But we never imagined the circumstances that would bring her back home to us, never in a million years. We take care of her and she does for us what she does best- the apple pies are a bonus.