Friday, March 10, 2017

Spring Song




It was a picture perfect day at Longwood Gardens on Wednesday.  The sun was shining from a clear blue sky.  The air was warm and held the promise of Spring.  The predicted snow by the end of the week seemed only to enhance the day.  Couples strolled along the paths, and children played nearby.  Their shrieks of laughter sang a duet with the chirping birds and provided joyful background music.   It seemed that the earth was coming back to life.

My meanderings led me to the Pierce duPont House where I was volunteering that day.  Delicate white flowers were scattered throughout the front lawn of the house causing me to stop and simply breathe it all in.
                                       




I entered the building and greeted Suzanne, my partner for the day.  We enjoy one another's company,
and surrounded by the beauty of the house's indoor gardens we quietly chatted and caught up with one another's lives.

                                         

As visitors drifted into the house we happily talked with them catching brief glimpses of their lives.  A woman from India who's heavily lined face spoke of her ancient wisdom.  A young couple from Japan who giggled as they posed for a photo in front of the orchids currently displayed in the house.  A sprightly woman who is 90 years young and never fails to delight us with her energy and wit.  One man who stopped to declare the gardens were an oasis, and another who simply said it was what heaven must look like.   All add so much to our days.  

In time a woman in a wheelchair entered the building accompanied by her daughter.  At that point they were the only visitors in the house.  With an elegant shawl wrapped around her and a faux fur throw draped over her lap the woman, Connie, buzzed about in her wheelchair determined to take full advantage of the rooms she was able to explore.  Her daughter, Elizabeth, dressed in casual knit pants and a quilted white jacket stayed close to her mother as they chatted about what they saw and learned.  Perhaps 30 years old and with her long blonde hair flying behind her Elizabeth was sometimes forced to trot in order to keep up with her mother.  Eventually they stopped to talk with Suzanne and me.  Oh my goodness, the stories they shared!

Connie spoke of her bout with cancer, explaining that it caused her hips to deteriorate and thus confined her to the wheelchair.  She went on to talk about her initial diagnosis.  She had not felt well and went to her doctor where they drew her blood and scheduled future tests.  She received a phone call the following Saturday.  The man who called explained that he was a doctor who rented office space from her regular physician on Saturdays.  He gently told her that he had seen her blood test results and advised her to go to the hospital immediately for a blood transfusion.  When she asked if it could wait until Monday...she had too much to do that weekend...the doctor replied she would not be around on Monday if she did not have the transfusion immediately.  Off to the hospital she went, and while waiting for the transfusion a doctor approached her.  He introduced himself as the person she spoke with on the phone.  He told her he stopped in to check that she did as he advised.  Once reassured that she had done so he quietly walked away.  So began her battle, and while she detests being confined to her wheelchair she is grateful that she still leads a full life.  In time she wanted to reach out and thank those people who helped her through her battle.  Of course she wanted to thank the doctor who initially called her.  As Connie tried to track him down she was dumbfounded at what she discovered.  There was not then, nor ever had been, anyone who rented office space from her primary doctor on Saturdays!  As far as anyone knew this "doctor" who sent her to the hospital so that she could receive a life saving procedure did not exist.  She considers him an angel who saved her life.

As Connie spoke Elizabeth sat nearby both confirming what her mother said and filling in any details her mother left out.  At one point Connie mentioned that Elizabeth was a ballet dancer up until Connie become ill.  Elizabeth added that she had actually performed at Longwood's open air theater in the past.  Then she casually stood up, did a few twirls around the room and kicked up her leg so that her sneaker clad foot rose above her head!  Suzanne and I laughed out loud with both surprise and delight.

The outside door opened, and Paula walked in. Paula is a delightful lady who is one of the administrators at Longwood.  She was on her way to her office which is located on the second floor of the house.  Paula was drawn into our conversation and stole a few minutes of her busy day to join us.  Connie spoke of her regret that Elizabeth had put a hold on her career in order to care for her. With pride yet almost as an afterthought Connie added that Elizabeth was also an opera singer.  

With a bit of encouragement Elizabeth stood up.  In a way that appeared almost effortless for her she began to sing.  Her voice soared from within her and resounded throughout the building.  There was no laughter as her song seemed to rise to the heavens.  As the three of us watched and listened in awe I felt my eyes fill up with tears.  Suzanne would later say that her arms were covered with goosebumps, and I watched Paula look up and nod to someone on the second floor as she wiped a tear from her eyes.  If it is true that Longwood is a bit of heaven, then on that day we heard the voice of an angel.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Coloring Lessons

                                         

Guests smiled as they watched a man and his wife spin around the dance floor. The couple's energy and zest for life left many smiling in wonder.   When the song ended they held onto one another a bit as they left the floor.  Having been married for over sixty years they knew well the value of loving and leaning on one another in good times and bad.  It was a lesson they taught their children and grandchildren.  A love lesson that would prove to be invaluable in the weeks ahead.

With the dance floor behind them the couple entered the crowd of family and friends that so often surrounded them.  As the man, Tom, glanced around the room his eyes rested on a niece.  First giving his wife's hand a small loving squeeze he walked over to her with a warm smile that reached all the way from his heart to his eyes.  He immediately engulfed her in one of his famous hugs.  In his typical manner, he looked straight into her eyes and listened, truly listened, to the words she spoke.  Later she would say that he made her feel as if she was the only person in the room.

A few weeks later Tom walked into his kitchen.  He smiled as he recalled an earlier conversation with his daughter.  Absentmindedly he adjusted the centerpiece on their family table and turned to open a drawer.  Suddenly the world turned black, and he sank to the floor with a crash.  The music stopped.  His dance had ended.

The message swiftly passed throughout his family.  Massive stroke...doesn't look good.  As his wife, children, and grandchildren gathered at his bedside,  they were joined in spirit by the many people whose lives Tom touched.  They struggled to make sense of it.  How could someone so full of life be so suddenly at death's door?  How could they be without this man who quietly entered their hearts and colored their lives with joy and love?  Within days a second message arrived.  He had passed. As another niece put it, "His wings were ready, but our hearts were not."  His loved ones found themselves stumbling about lost in a gray fog of disbelief and grief.

                               

  But his coloring lessons were not finished, and his love was still present.  Those closest to him reached out through that dismal fog and found one another.  Supporting one another as he had taught them to do they found a way to bring his vibrancy back to life.  His family  knew his wishes.  He had often expressed them.  He did not want a solemn funeral, but rather he wanted a celebration of his life.  He had a specific request that gave his loved ones a direction.  No one should wear black clothes.  He wanted people in bright colors. And so they arrived at his services wearing reds, corals, yellows, and bright blues.  By wearing vibrant colors they honored the vibrancy of Tom's life and celebrated the remarkable man they were blessed to know.
                                       

                                     
  They listened to the loved filled words spoken about him, and struggled to use those words to help fill the void left in their hearts. One man described Tom using the following words.  "Some people see the glass as half empty and others as half full.  Once in a while there is someone who sees the glass as three quarters full.  Tom was one of those people."

His coloring lessons continued as his family carried out his wishes.  They leaned on one another.  They greeted those who gathered with hugs.  Their smiles came from their hearts and reached their eyes.  They looked people in the eyes and listened, not only giving them the gift of feeling they were the only person in the room but also that each and every person there was loved by Tom.  While they would grieve his loss they would also find a way to bring joy back into their lives.  And from above Tom reaches for his glass that is now brimming over.  He pours a bit into each glass held by the people he loves.  Then with glasses now three quarters full they raise them up as he reaches down.  A beautiful sound rings out as those glasses touch in a toast to a man who continues to teach so many how to color their worlds with love and joy.

                                         
God speed, Uncle Tom.