no good

My eyes are glued to her photo. I gasp. I smile. I gloat. I'm in the midst of an extreme moment of karma, physical evidence that what goes around, comes around. "I knew it," I convince myself. I knew in my heart that God never forgets, and He takes care of his small birds, mustard seeds, and the like. I have been vindicated. It is pay-back time for the grief, and yes, downright craziness, she caused me. We're even now.

A night passes.

Really? I put on my big girl panties and breathe. Really?

Does a cloudy, unflattering mug shot for stealing a hairbrush in Wal-Mart (I'm just guessing since she looked so forlorn) actually make up for the hours of pain, tears and fear I experienced some ten years ago - almost to the day? Can a bond of $1300 be equal to the thousands that I lost? And not mention the years stolen from my life? What about my children? Can it replace their grief?

Hours have passed since my initial revelation, and the sun is rising. The mama bird flips up to her corner nest and then flies down again to the porch railing, heading out to find food for her young. The horses pass by the upper field, grazing and every now and then, raise their heads to make sense of an unknown sound and quickly, once they determine everything is okay, resume nibbling. The cat sits at my feet, all cuddled in a ball. Never impressed by the movements of the birds or the horses. He only moves when I do. He is only moved by me.

I realize that I am no different from yesterday morning, even with my new-found knowledge. Every thing I've tried to discover, every one that I had informed, every high-five I lifted are movements and thoughts that I surmised would make me a different, more satisfied person. One with a new sense of worth and made greater because of her atonement. Nope. Didn't happen.

Knowing something bad happens to another can't increase my value. If my mom were here, she'd tell me it diminishes mine. I should be the lofty one. I should be the better one. And I will be known by my thoughts and deeds. And at this moment, I change gears.

I'm sad that people don't lose their spots. That they don't change. That they don't understand that good is the only road to follow. I guess people become so cemented to a certain path that veering off is never an option. Doing what is right is the only option.

So, I will forgive my thoughts - they will come to no good. I haven't been able to forgive her yet. Nor the others, but in time, I will. I have forgotten to the point that I can get through any given day without thinking of the day my world ended. It gets better - even with a pop-up reminder of her terrible face.

My bird, my horses and my cat don't have time for her - and frankly, neither do I. 

stronger than death

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” ~Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

I went to a funeral. A man of 92. A man who had lived a long, good life. A Godly life with a wife and five children.  His family was there, holding onto their mother, joining together to say good-bye. Even though I didn't know the man personally, I knew his brother and sister. I know the strength of the family.

I thought of how things have changed. Family numbers aren't staggering anymore. I do have three children, but since I'm an only child and so is their father, there's no close or distant relatives for that matter. They mostly have each other. There are no long lineage of brothers and sisters, no massive Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations with women and men and children struggling to add seats around the dinner table. No mountainous pile of Christmas presents for the grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Where has the family gone?

And what about faith? The minister read from Tom's Bible that Tom, more than likely, read from every day of his life. It was comfort, strength and guidance in a world that had grown more and more complicated. If there ever was a question, there was always an answer within these pages. Where do we go for answers these days? I have faith, but my children do not. Most think of the church as the last choice for advice. Most search the web, flip through the magazines, comb the self-help section of Barnes and Noble or make a split-second decision based upon what someone has done previously. None of those are true and lasting. Where are the answers?

Tom Carter

This conundrum baffles me. I have no answers. I don't know what will happen when the older generation leaves all of the young ones to carry on. They relied on their 'guidebook', the Bible, and the only attention it receives these days comes in the form of the History Channel.

How do we carry on so that when our 92 years are over, we're okay with everything?