| A note
from Christine:
I am on my way to bed after
spending an entire day alone and in silence - sort of a circumstance
imposed retreat. I woke up with complete laryngitis and Chris
flew to South Dakota, so I stayed quiet - working in the yard and
enjoying our home. I was gone for almost three weeks this
month and there's nothing like coming home to a new kitchen to make
a girl want to nest. Chris and our friend Kevin Johnson
transformed our space by painting, tiling the countertops, building
oak bars, creating new floor-to-ceiling shelves...I need to go away
more often. I got to do the "Design on a Dime" thing - walk in
with my eyes closed and squeal with disbelief and delight.
Not all has been delightful this month. My mom
had some serious surgery and needed help for several weeks, so my
sisters, brother and sister-in-law and I have been tag teaming to
stay with my parents and help them with the day to day tasks that
can wear you down. The "gift in the fist" has been getting to
spend concentrated time with my folks, something we don't get enough
of. We watched a couple of movies, I cooked for them (too bad
Chris wasn't there because he's the real chef), and I got to help
them with crossword puzzle clues that involved music. The
first day I was there Dad needed a 6 letter folk singer that only
uses one name. Odetta! I felt so smart, in my own
limited niche kind of way.
Gwen's dad Alpha passed away while I was with my
parents, making the loss even more profound. I guess that we
are all at that age; I am surrounded by friends who are helping
their parents through those challenging years, or having to let go
of them. I know it's a rite of passage, but one of the more
difficult ones.
As Chris says, "call your loved ones" - and I say don't
be afraid to put some things on hold to be with them.
Christine |
|
And
a blurb from Chris:
I'm going to make a quick trip to South Dakota tomorrow to wish a
final farewell to an old friend and former father-in-law, Alpha
Braunesreither. An amazing man and an incredible grandfather
to my boys, every Christmas would bring a new trinket that he had
hand crafted out of wood or bone or feathers or leather...each one
came with a poem (and usually a 50 dollar bill). He spent the
last years of his life chronicling his family tree from immigration
from Romania to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
I stayed in touch with Al even after separating from his
daughter many years ago, and always enjoyed the conversation.
He had a habit of sending mass emails, usually of a political
nature, and not usually to my tastes. More often than not I
would read and delete this kind of email, but right before the last
election he pushed my buttons and I got in his face. I'm glad
I did - we ended up in the most spirited debate we'd ever had, and
my life would be poorer if I'd not responded. Gwen remarked
the other day that he would push and push to see if you were strong
enough to push back! Rest in peace, Al, I'll come up and sing
you one last song.
Call your loved ones, and don't be afraid to push back.
See you at the gig!
Chris |
