Member Articles
& Stories
This
collection of Inspiring Thoughts was submitted by one of our members.
SPECIAL
OCCASIONS
My
brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out
a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip.
This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It
was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price
tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought
this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She
never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this
is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with
the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the
soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to
me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day
you're alive is a special occasion." I remembered those
words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and
my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I
thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern
town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she
hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done
without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his
words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting
less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about
the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends
and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be
a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these
moments now and cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use
our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound,
getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good
blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I
can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not
saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and
tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going
friends'. "Someday" and "one of these days" are
losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or
doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister
would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we
all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few
close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and
mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for
a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never
know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I
knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends
whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't
written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry
and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I
truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save
anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning
when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.
Every day, every
minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.
by Ann
Wells Los Angeles Times
Next is a
poem by an unknown author...
Miss me..
But let me Go
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss Me a Little
- But not too Long
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss Me - But Let Me Go.
For this is a
journey that we all must take,
And each must go alone.
It's all a part of the Master's plan,
A step on the road to home.
When you are
lonely and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss Me - But Let Me Go.
In
Loving Memory
Ella C. Maxwell
April 10, 1931 to May 21, 1996
Memories of a
life we knew
More and more as friends we grew
Until the days of May that flew
and God's quiet angels came for you
Days of fear and
troubled thought
with only varied sunbeams caught
became too quickly hours.... minutes
A demon from the depths of Hell
A disease of which from who knows where
The mind of one we knew in love
Became the helpless victim of.... CJD
As seasons pass and years unfold
we search for answers yet untold,
and know that God in all His grace
has prepared for you a better place.
I miss you more than words can say
You're in my thoughts most everyday.
Sweet scents of spring now fill the air and I remember.
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