I hope you don’t mind if I share a heartfelt personal story with you.
Last week my sweet Aunt, my dad’s sister, left this world. She was the last remaining ‘grown-up’ on that side of the family. She passed at age 91 on January 15th, which would have been my dad’s 94th birthday! (He passed away in 2008). Her passing on my dad’s birthday is poignant, but not even the most interesting element. There’s more to this story, but first please allow me to honor her by sharing a couple tender memories.
I remember as a little girl going to see Aunt Cecilia at the flagship Lazarus Department Store (when it was still in existence) in downtown Columbus, Ohio. We would take the elevator up to her office and go to the cafe for lunch. I always felt so fancy and grown up during these special outings into the “big”city, lunching near the bright and shiny executive offices where Aunt Cecilia spent her days doing work I was too young to understand. What a delightful treat those fieldtrips were. Her youngest daughter, Lori, and I are only six months apart. We were inseparable as kids. I spent many nights at their house, and Aunt Cecilia was always warm and welcoming to our incessant requests for sleepovers. Even though we were a handful, she was never quick to lose patience with us. Those trips into downtown Columbus and sleepovers at her house are some of my favorite childhood memories.
Back to the story within the story. As I mentioned in my last note, I love January as a time to refresh and renew. This past weekend, I was doing lots of moving things around, organizing, and tossing unneeded paperwork to make space for what’s new this coming year. Physically and emotionally it feels really good to get rid of the clutter and unnecessary stuff.
I had one of those decorative cardboard boxes that you find at a craft store under my desk. It was stuffed to overflowing with receipts that I’ve been cramming in there for probably six or seven years now. In my cleaning/organizing/decluttering flurry, I decided it was time for the box’s contents to finally be dealt with, too. I opened the lid and let the contents fall into the garbage bag, each little paper a reminder of places I’ve been and things I’ve been fortunate to be able to do. How quickly those slips of white glossy paper, and memories of times gone by, add up. Glancing at a few made me smile as I recalled what I purchased and why, a few moments of gratitude for the many blessings in my life.
As I rifled through some of the receipts to make double sure I wasn’t throwing away anything important (spoiler alert, I almost did!), a small card greeting card with puppies on it caught my eye. I don’t recall putting cards in my receipt box but there it was.
Now this is when it gets interesting and truly gives me goosebumps. I pulled out the little greeting card, opened it up, and began reading. To my surprise and astonishment, it was a note from my dear Aunt Cecilia from 2017 thanking me for inviting her to a cookout we hosted at my sister’s house during a family visit to Ohio. How crazy, in a beautiful way, is that? It all seems so random, my deciding to clean out a box of old receipts just two days after her funeral, and seeing the card in a cascade of items on their way to the garbage bin, never to be seen again. It defies odds, this almost missed moment of connection defying time and space, and fills me with such love, hope, and belief in what's possible.
Our brains want to cling to reality and certainty while applying explanation and logic. But there are these precious moments of wonder and the unexplained that can remind us of the magical essence of life that exists if we’re open, willing, and most importantly, paying attention.
The handwritten note from my Aunt, now placed in safekeeping!
Don't stop believin',
Julie
Комментарии