Gather the Good

Thoughts about something I read keep worming their way into my mind. It was presented by a character in a story, a Buddhist monk. He was encouraging his Protestant brother-in-law to release his attachment to all experiences. He suggested letting go of the ties to successes as well as failures. It’s not hard to see the harm caused by negative experiences weighing you down. But successes? What’s wrong with clinging to their memory? Couldn’t there be some benefit from replaying our triumphs when we…

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By Judie Henry, July 2019. Judie is a dear friend of Nancy Kidd’s through their mutual love of the written word. Kitty came into my life when I was about 5 years old, a gift from my parents. She is knit with gray yarn, 10 inches high, and she wears a timeless red and white polka dot dress with red rick-rack trim, and she’s blessed with an ever-present, loving smile.  She has made all our moves with me, from Minnesota to…

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I just said goodbye to an old friend, knowing full well our paths are unlikely to cross again. We met 34 years ago, and we remained quite close until our recent parting. And though this friend is not a living being, I’m keenly aware of the debt of gratitude I owe it. This friend is my piano. I didn’t think I’d be so sentimental about bidding it farewell, but as our time together grew short, I found myself recalling the highlights…

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For my friend Connie, that recent Sunday was a day of joyous celebration. It was a baby shower for her daughter and her first grandchild, a baby girl scheduled to arrive in October. The party had been planned for several weeks, and family came from far and wide to share in the happy time. Then the very next day, within the same four walls that had beheld such blissfulness, everything shifted dramatically. Without missing a beat, the euphoric highs for…

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It was a sacred day. The minister had said it was, and to all of us gathered at my father’s graveside, it truly felt that way. On that beautiful, sunshiny spring morning, my siblings and our spouses had met outside the funeral home. From there we would accompany Dad’s body on its final journey. The official funeral home car with its yellow flashing lights led the way, and the hearse followed. The rest of us fell in behind for the…

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When he first entered the hospital, he’d been identified as a “DNR” patient—do not resuscitate. It seemed like a natural path to choose, given his advanced years, his declining physical state, and his dementia. The decision had actually been made a couple years ago, and that was a good thing. After all, who wants to make that choice while in the throes of a health crisis? But now that we were there, the strength of that conviction was wavering. Ten…

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The news was bad. I should have realized it was bad when my sister made an unexpected siblings conference call. And especially since she did it just one night after our Easter family Zoom session. Moments before, she’d received a call from the assisted living facility where our dad resides. The staff had heard his cries for help and discovered him lying on his bathroom floor. An ambulance trip to the local hospital. X-rays. A fractured left hip. Another ambulance…

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A note from Nancy: When I wrote the following post, we were living in a different time. We’d heard of the coronavirus, but we only knew it from a distance. Now, this deadly virus has taken hold in nearly every corner of the world.   Because of the pandemic, our lifestyles have been altered significantly. What has not changed, however, is our basic human need to show love to one another—not just to those in our inner circle, but to…

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“Why don’t you set aside your ‘to-do’ list from time to time?”a spiritual adviser recently suggested to me. “Try focusing less on all the tasks you want to check off. Instead, make more of an effort to listen to your inner voice, and just do whatever inspires you in the moment.” I understand the idea is to merely “be” and let life unfold spontaneously as it should. If I could quit trying to “do” so much, I might have less…

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“May I have your attention, please?”the voice over the loudspeaker announced. “Very soon we’ll begin boarding our flight from Sacramento to Denver. But first, folks, I’d like to introduce a special guest traveling with us today.” At that point the gate agent introduced the youngster next to her, a darling girl wearing a tiara. We learned the girl and her family were headed for a Disney cruise, compliments of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I’d noticed the group of family members earlier….

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