1) Selflessness personified:
The most accepting, selfless, open-minded person I know is my great aunt, Sister Mary Jean Clare. She entered the convent at 18 and has spent her life serving the world. She is over 80 now and still working as a physical therapist. A year ago she took her first flight in forever to visit myself, mother & father. We celebrated my birthday together with champagne. She has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s but continued to work. She was put on new medication and had a negative reaction; on her way from a clients home she passed out behind the wheel. When she regained consciousness she narrowly avoided a head on collision, however, she was still pinned in her car. She will have to have numerous surgeries, be immobilized for a month+ but is in good spirits. Her first concern was not her patients, the car, getting back to work, her pain, her family … she was concerned her roommate would be alone and hoped one of the sisters would visit her so she wouldn’t be alone. My favorite memory with Sister is taking her to Rothko Chapel. She’s studied the chakras with her sisters and was so excited to sit in a class on discovering your chakras. That, and sharing champagne with her on my birthday. I hope I can be like her when I grow up.
2) Remembering Change [aka rollercoasters & warp speed]:
Sometimes your life changes so fast, so drastically & so organically you can’t fathom exactly how or what happened. You get fleeting glimpses and reminders through fortuitous facebook requests or daydreams between your insomniac tendencies. All of sudden, it hits you like a ton of bricks – What the hell happened? And when did it happen? Then the self-consciousness sets in … & inner-dialogue. ‘Everyone knows you’re a fraud.’ Then simple things like getting dressed become challenging and haunt you all day because you can’t figure out if its who you were, who you are or … if you’re just being silly [most circumstances lie within the latter]. Beyond embracing change, I’m learning to recognize and remember it. Afterall, I’m nothing now without who I used to be.
Tonight those thoughts fill my thankful mind … while there are a bajillion other moments I’m thankful for this evening … they pale in comparison.
