Heartwarming...even now... by Helen DePrima and Liz Flaherty

by Liz Flaherty

I keep using the term "in times like these," because, frankly, I've never seen times like these before and it's my fervent hope that I never see them again. Since Helen and I were both uninspired about a subject for this month's blog--which she remembered at the last minute and I didn't remember at all!--she suggested we write about some of the truly Heartwarming things we've experienced during this "time like these."

Connor Wilson
Last weekend, my grandson's high school class had a graduation ceremony on the baseball field at the high school. The class of kids who had been born during the grieving time of Nine Eleven "ran the bases" during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their senior year was, to put it elegantly, completely screwed, but they were as glorious and full of hope and gladness as any other class. One of the baseball players even slid into home, indicative of the resilience of his generation.

On a brick wall in a nearby town, Dan Mongosa, a local artist, sketched and then painted wings. I am reminded with every photo someone snaps in front of the wings that there are angels among us--we have only to look. And maybe try to be one.
Tammy Dougherty Loftis


We live in the country...way in the country, so birds and deer and other small wildlife are a part of every day. This year, they've been extraordinary. The orioles stayed around for weeks longer than their usual fly-by hello. A doe--I'm convinced it's the same one--stops in almost daily and poses. I'm accompanied on walks by more rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks than I've ever seen before. They bring joy.
Doe, posing in the front yard

I've had pleasure in making masks, using fabric I'd forgotten I had. I've taken walking from a desultory part of weight loss to a daily soothing-the-soul appointment. I used to wish I had someone to walk with, but I've learned in these months to treasure solitude in a way I didn't before. I've also listened to a couple of Jane Austen books on audio. A great way to re-read.
Nickel Plate Trail

Even though I want old normal back, I'm glad for the Heartwarming places on the new normal path, too.

by Helen DePrima

John Prine
If I’ve learned anything from this sad and scary time, it’s that tomorrow isn’t a sure thing.
Last fall, my husband and I drove from New Hampshire to Roanoke for a concert, the first time we’d seen John Prine perform on stage. He blew us away – two hours of joy and laughter and a tear or two, like a family reunion which ends with everyone still on speaking terms. If all the following shows hadn’t been sold out, we would have followed him to his next venue. Instead, we immediately bought tickets to see him again in May in Louisville, something to look forward to during the long New England winter.  
In March, we lost John Prine to COVID19, but we’ll always treasure the marvelous gift he shared with us that evening in November. 
Now, someday isn’t an acceptable option. I talk to my cousins in Kentucky more often, and old friends call or write to ask, “Are you guys okay?” Although we haven’t lost friends or relatives to this evil scourge, we know folks who have been very ill but have recovered, so we don’t blithely assume it can’t happen to us. I’m deeply grateful that our daughter in North Caroline takes the danger seriously and practices caution.
I’ve been sorting through trunks baby clothes I’ve saved, hand-smocked dresses, some made for my daughter, some made for me as a baby, too beautiful to end up in a thrift shop, and sending to young friends with little girls. Today, I mailed a hand-crafted stuffed toy, Rockefeller the Oyster, to a friend with a young son, along with matching lad-and-dad masks I sewed. I’m setting aside books for people who will love them as I have and pieces of jewelry for special friends, as they’ve been left to me. Knowing these gifts will be enjoyed – now, not someday – gives me great pleasure. 
As the old saying goes, “Lord willing and the Creek don’t rise,” maybe we’ll be able to look forward to more somedays.

Comments

  1. There are always things to cherish, even in "times like these". Lovely post, Liz and Helen. A friend of mine had a baby in December. She was so grateful to get extra time at home with her baby when her office began working from home in March.

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    1. What an extra blessing that is!

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    2. To play the devil's advocate, I remember a comment from the New England Blizzard of '78. A salesman who spent much of his life on the road was snowed in with his wife and kids for nearly a week. "I really really got to know my my family and discovered I didn't like them very much." Hope that's the exception now rather than the rule!

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  2. The mama deer in our yard nudged her wobbly legged spotted fawn in front of our kitchen window as if to say Look what I Made. The hummingbird is making a regular appearance at my feeder. I have a checklist of friends and family to stay in touch with, probably with greater frequency than ever before. No rushed phone calls but leisurely one with laughter of remembered shared times. I still remain hopeful of the return to the before time but it is getting harder to hold onto that wisp of joy with cases increasing. At least with the mask ordinance even the inconsiderate might be reined in. Find the joy where you can. God bless you!

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    1. You as well! I am so happy that I learned at some point to make gratitude a habit. It doesn't necessarily make things easier, but it makes them better.

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    2. The natural world is a great comfort to me. I know I should have taken my bird feeder down in April, but the feathered parade I can see from my writing station does much to keep me sane. I offer the year-round suet cakes which don't melt in hot weather; at times, I've seen three different woodpecker species dining at the same time. I set my birdbath near the feeder and get a good laugh over the young catbirds playing in the water like kids splashing in a wading pool.

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  3. I have too many blessings to count, but its the little everyday surprises that bring joy. Like discovering a wild dianthus in the park, blooming in shades of hot pink. Or finding out that a group of rhinoceroses is called a crash. Or seeing your picture of those lovely angel wings. What joy that artist has shared with the world!

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    1. Hasn't he? That's one of the joys of being "older," knowing that at the end of the day, it's the little things.

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    2. We live on a dead-end street which has become a perambulating get-together. I spend a great deal of time in the front yard tending my perennial border and have lovely chats with both neighbors taking their daily walks and even strangers who have told me they come up our street to see what I have currently blooming.

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  4. Lovely posts--such a roller-coaster for so many and nothing was quite what we expected--those graduations were like nothing we'd ever thought of. I saw deer on a street near my condo where no deer should be, but on the other hand, this morning a group of butterflies were hanging around the flowers in the green space in the back. We haven't had them in a few years, so welcome back. In the midst of everything, I'm incredibly grateful for the life I have and how little my write-at-home life changed. Thanks!

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    1. I'm surprised that the wild critters are appearing more frequently considering the number of humans taking to the woods. A doe probably on her way to tend her fawn watched me and my little dog for some minutes before continuing her leisurely stroll into the woods and I've seen our neighborhood coyote several times loping across the back of our property. A neighbor two houses down alerted us last week that two bears were visiting her yard, but I haven't had the pleasure yet.

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    2. Thanks for reminding me to think about the Heartwarming times we have. I have lost one friend to COVID, and almost lost one this week, but now he's recovering! PTL.

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    3. It’s like we’re given compensation, isn’t it? Thanks, Virginia.

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  5. I’m glad your friend is recovering, Pat, but sorry for your loss. My friend’s aunt is recovering, but her uncle has been I on a ventilator for many days now. A sad time.

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    1. It is, Liz. I never thought I'd say I'll be glad for things to be normal so I can get back in a routine. lol.

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  6. Inspiring, comforting posts ladies! I'm finding a similar re-connection to Nature these days, too. Maybe because of learning to slow down a bit....or maybe my age. :) Or a combination of the two. And giving to others means a lot more now...sharing spontaneously. As you say, these new normal days may become permanent and some of that can't be bad. Thanks.

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    1. I agree. I think we're learning some valuable things. I know this is a trite thing to say, but in some ways, the whole thing is bringing out the good.

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  7. We're definitely facing a unique period in history. I've been thinking a lot about my great-grandmother who had "weak lungs" (probably asthma). Because of that, she was terrified of getting the flu. When the Spanish flu epidemic was raging, word came that an entire family was desperately ill and no one would go nurse them. Despite her fears, my great-grandmother packed a bag, told her loved ones not to come if she got sick, and went to take care of them. She nursed them all back to health and never got sick herself. Remembering her faith and courage has inspired and uplifted me through all of this.

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    1. What an inspiring story! My father's eldest sister died in the 1918 epidemic. She was my grandmother's firstborn and was 23 when she passed. The kind of grief that must have permeated the family has spent a lot of time on my my mind lately.

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