Summer Life

Apricots, not Grapes! The whole tree!  http://copingjene.blogspot.com/

It seems impossible that yet another year has passed.  Summers and Christmas seem to be the markers of years passing that I pay attention to.  It seems to me that with both, even though I know they are coming, they spring on me as if they had dropped out of an unseen airplane and suddenly landed next to me.

I always look forward to summer.  The fruit is on and it seems most of the pleasant memory makers are too.  I’m glad to see another summer, even though it also reminds me that I am probably coming to the end of the summer in my life.  Summers remind me that life goes on.  It also reminds me, that most of life is warm and inviting.  No matter how long winter seems to last, summer eventually comes and life seems wonderful.

I hope your summer is great.  Well, it’s time to get back to my fruit.  My apricots are one I that truly enjoy, and you would not believe how many I have already eaten.  Between the dog and I, we must have already eaten more than all the other apricots we have gotten from that tree in all the years past combined.  I think the dog has slowed down a bit, but I’m still eating all I can.

I love it. 

Until next time, Jene.

Tender Reminders

My wife and I were at a movie the other day.  It was a movie that we enjoyed very much.  It was based on a true story.  There were many touching scenes.  However, near the end of the movie, a very troubling scene came, where we watched in horror as the husband was killed in an accident.  We had not been prepared for that.  I could tell that my wife also took a gasping breath.  We were holding hands at the time.  Our grip tightened.  We sat white knuckled after that, as the movie played out, in a very mild way, what the new widow and her family were experiencing in the aftermath.

I was very troubled by how the film made me feel.  It brought everything back as though it was yesterday.  Even though the story being portrayed was not how I lost my wife, it took me back to that moment once more.  It also brought back all the fears and stress that I felt back then.  It took several moments before I could breathe relaxed again.  After we left the theater, my wife and I talked about it.  I knew that she had been as affected as I had been.  Her husband had also died of cancer.  Our shared experience has given both of us insights into how we each have felt over the years we’ve been together.  I was glad that she understood my feelings so well. 

The memory of the feelings I had from watching the film stayed with me through the following day, but it made me grateful for this woman I found to share my life with.  Today I find myself grateful for life, for family, and for love.  I am especially grateful for the experiences that have given me the greater appreciation for what is truly important.  God, family and friends out weigh anything else about this life.

Thanks Deb, for love and a more meaningful life.  Thank you family and friends for your love and support.

Until next time, Jene