The Gift of Time

These are not the words I planned to share today, but since I feel so vulnerable, I will tell you my reason.

The pedestal of life where I stand seems to have begun to shatter, and I wonder

Is it my age or my perception of reality?

I am unsure, of all the causes, but there are three that instantly come to mind:

The escalating crescendo of conflicting voices all wrapped in identical fear that are a consequence of June 27th. They suffocate the national conscience, invade my emotional space, and provoke intellectual questions without easy answers.

Covid, temporarily forgotten, has once again invaded the lovely residence I now call home. My vivid memory of an earlier isolation is chilling and daunting.

My beloved friend, (a fellow New Yorker) said adieu late last night.

She was the first (on a snowy Halloween night. eight years ago) to welcome me to the Midwest.

Arlene Brodsky went home, not back to Montauk, but to a far better place where she was welcomed by the God she served so well while on this earth.

Shalom, lovely lady, you will be missed by all whose world you touched with kindness, humor and grace.

Now although I anguish for my country, fear another siege of covid and mourn my friend, I am grateful because I do believe

It is the gift of God’s love that helps builds barriers to pain and provides the ability to continue until we, too, finish our complicated journey of life.