between one breath and the next

On Monday, I committed to blogging every day for a week.  That evening we got the news that my husband's aunt had died - a classy, intelligent, spiritually adventurous woman.  Tuesday morning, I received news that a member of my congregation had died and that I would be needed for a Memorial Service on Saturday. This was a man who lived life on the go, pausing only to dish up cones to customers at the family Frozen Custard shop. That evening, I got an email letting me know that one of my best friends from high school had lost her mother - a woman who had patiently hosted countless sleepovers for us throughout our teen years, so I attended her service on Wednesday. This morning (Thursday), as I was preparing to go visit with the family from my church, I got a call saying that ANOTHER member had suddenly died - one of my favorite older gentlemen.  A couple of years ago, I had declared he and his wife, both in their 80's, to be the VERY CUTEST COUPLE ON EARTH.  They have held that title ever since. But, before I actually walked out the door, I did a quick check of Facebook only to learn that a childhood friend had just died suddenly. She was the pesky little girl whose summer cottage was next door to ours - adorable, wiry, limber, curious, and determined to spend as much time with her older neighbors as humanly possible.  Mostly we let her.  Because she was really cute.  How this beautiful, now grown woman, with 4 children of her own and a job teaching school could suddenly pass is a story I've not yet heard, but what I do know is that another light has gone out in the world.

My dabbling topic for the week was/is that of "breathing."  If I needed any reminders of the power of a single breath ... no longer.  With so much loss comes the recognition of so much love and so much life.  Breathing into it all.  

(Image: view from my writing desk)

---