Morning Sun

The morning sun on the face of a rose...gives you an immediate sense of a new day, a new beginning, a new chance at life.

But it is, in a sense, a false feeling. No day is truly "new" and nothing really begins again. Yesterday's pain is still present, yesterday's harms done, they are still done. Their scars linger. That morning sun just means that you can get up and try again. You can try to be there for others, you can try to get it right. Today I attended the funeral of the nicest lady. She died well before her time, if those of us who cared about her had our way. She was just 58. She had not enjoyed good health for a very long time. She was on oxygen 24/7 and in her weakened state she could catch everything that went around. For that reason, I often stayed out of her cubicle whenever I felt a cold or virus lingering. We were careful of her. When you spoke with her on the phone, you'd hear the gentle "puff puff" of the oxygen. But you'd never hear her complain. "how ya doing Willie?" "eh, I'm ok." That was her standard answer.

I hope we all showed her enough how much we cared about her. I hope she knew.

Here's to Willie - who had such grace in such trial. Godspeed