Words of wisdom
In my high school yearbook, I quoted a verse from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The song is titled, “To life” or perhaps, “L’Chaim.” Makes no difference.
Our great men have written words of wisdom
to be used when hardships must be faced.
Life obliges us with hardships so the
words of wisdom shouldn’t go to waste.
At seventeen, I was quite taken with these profound lyrics. At 49 years of age, this same verse keeps popping into my head. “I wonder why?” she asks, facetiously.
Luckily, life obliges us with pleasures, even as the hardships are being faced. These days, I savour every moment I spend with Gilly, I hug my children that much tighter (and my motherly embraces have always been pretty tight to begin with), I treasure every moment shared with family and friends, and I am eternally grateful for the loving support that cushions our jagged, oftentimes frightening experience, thus softening the blow.
Gilly found it too cold today to begin assembling the fence, but there was no shortage of offers to help get the project started. Even Susie showed signs of willingness to start digging. But the foreman calls the shots; we’ll just have to wait for warmer weather.
It was a Birch Point sort of day. We had a short, distant, but unquestionably cherished visit from Shelly. ‘Short and distant’ because she has a cold; she wouldn’t even think of crossing the threshold, for fear of spreading her germs around our living space. ‘Cherished’ because she lives in Toronto; it’s always a treat to see her when she’s in Montreal, even if just for a few moments. Next, Harold showed up, hammer and all, poised to assist in constructing the fence. Gilly and Harold have teamed up on previous occasions; deep down in Harold’s well, and up high on the cross-country trail. A visit was all Gilly desired, so the hammer was put aside for another day. Joey and Susie arrived, prepared to wield some tools or take me for a walk, whatever Gilly’s pleasure. We enjoyed some Grand Lac Long lore, and then went our separate ways to allow Gilly some down time.
It was a social day. Gilly took pleasure in every moment. No further changes to his health status are evident as we move into the second week of radiation. His mood remains as positive as ever. Last evening, we discussed how he was feeling emotionally, and, with some prodding on my part to get him to open up, he declared that his life has fallen apart. I assured him that when the treatment is all done, we will work with what we have, and begin a new life together. He replied, “Not a chance. I’ll be going back to what I was doing before.” If that’s not the essence of hope, I don’t know what is!
If you have sent me a message via my McGill email recently, please excuse my lack of response. I’m usually diligent about replying, but my server is down and I don’t know why. I can only be reached through Vanier until I solve the mystery.
Our great men have written words of wisdom
to be used when hardships must be faced.
Life obliges us with hardships so the
words of wisdom shouldn’t go to waste.
At seventeen, I was quite taken with these profound lyrics. At 49 years of age, this same verse keeps popping into my head. “I wonder why?” she asks, facetiously.
Luckily, life obliges us with pleasures, even as the hardships are being faced. These days, I savour every moment I spend with Gilly, I hug my children that much tighter (and my motherly embraces have always been pretty tight to begin with), I treasure every moment shared with family and friends, and I am eternally grateful for the loving support that cushions our jagged, oftentimes frightening experience, thus softening the blow.
Gilly found it too cold today to begin assembling the fence, but there was no shortage of offers to help get the project started. Even Susie showed signs of willingness to start digging. But the foreman calls the shots; we’ll just have to wait for warmer weather.
It was a Birch Point sort of day. We had a short, distant, but unquestionably cherished visit from Shelly. ‘Short and distant’ because she has a cold; she wouldn’t even think of crossing the threshold, for fear of spreading her germs around our living space. ‘Cherished’ because she lives in Toronto; it’s always a treat to see her when she’s in Montreal, even if just for a few moments. Next, Harold showed up, hammer and all, poised to assist in constructing the fence. Gilly and Harold have teamed up on previous occasions; deep down in Harold’s well, and up high on the cross-country trail. A visit was all Gilly desired, so the hammer was put aside for another day. Joey and Susie arrived, prepared to wield some tools or take me for a walk, whatever Gilly’s pleasure. We enjoyed some Grand Lac Long lore, and then went our separate ways to allow Gilly some down time.
It was a social day. Gilly took pleasure in every moment. No further changes to his health status are evident as we move into the second week of radiation. His mood remains as positive as ever. Last evening, we discussed how he was feeling emotionally, and, with some prodding on my part to get him to open up, he declared that his life has fallen apart. I assured him that when the treatment is all done, we will work with what we have, and begin a new life together. He replied, “Not a chance. I’ll be going back to what I was doing before.” If that’s not the essence of hope, I don’t know what is!
If you have sent me a message via my McGill email recently, please excuse my lack of response. I’m usually diligent about replying, but my server is down and I don’t know why. I can only be reached through Vanier until I solve the mystery.
posted by Gilly at 7:54 PM
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