My World With Words

How can I think of cleaning out the spare room when my two  babies have made themselves so comfortable here?

Image Credit: Cesar Cat copyright Belinda Ostrowski, Paws in Heart copyright Bigstock.

We’re all being forced to be a little more creative these days. As the pandemic rages on, most of us must find new ways to be close to friends and even family for the holidays. I urge you to follow the recommendations of the CDC as well as find new traditions that will remind us in years to come how we survived the frustrations of 2020.

Creative holidays in the past, for many of us at least, meant making our own Christmas decorations. Now it means finding ways to be close to each other without threatening the health and lives of those around us. For some businesses it means finding ways to stay afloat while restrictions limit the normal flow of things.

I recently wrote a short story about a family who replaces the mall Santa with a Santa ornament and urges their five-year-old daughter to whisper her Christmas wishes to the ornament. (Perhaps later I’ll share that story here; for now it’s being saved for my writing group.)

Happy Creative Holidays, everyone.

Image credit: ©Maridav – stock.adobe.com

This rare treat occurs when there are two full moons in one month–and this month happens to be one of those! We won’t get another blue moon on Halloween until 2039. So enjoy it while you can!

Image credit: © Romolo Tavani–stock.adobe.com

Earlier today I was driving home from a quick run to the grocery store when I spotted a neighbor of mine walking on the sidewalk, headed in the same direction. There was no place to pull over and traffic was heavy, so I didn’t have a way to ask her if she wanted a ride home.

I know she doesn’t have a car and I’ve seen her walking the other direction from our apartments from time to time, so I assumed on those occasions she likely made the mile-long trek to the store that’s located down that other road. I also know that store is much smaller and while it has all the basics, if there’s a specialty item you want, you have to go somewhere else.

It bothered me that I wasn’t able to stop and offer her a ride.  She’s always been nice to me, and there was another three miles left to our respective homes, three miles with some steep hills along the way.

I should note that there’s no transit system in our area, so taking a bus was not an option for her.

I was troubled enough that I headed back out, knowing the next leg of her journey would be through a residential area and I could easily pull over onto a side street and flag her down as she walked by.

I did just that, and to my surprise she turned down my offer of a ride. Whether it was pride, a desire to get some exercise, fear of COVID or something else, I don’t know. I didn’t push it, however. She had offered me some help when I was moving in a few months ago, and when I declined her offer she smiled and said, “I know better than to ask again. If someone tells me no, I believe them.”

So why did this still bother me? I’d done what I could and it wasn’t as if it was a terribly hot or windy day. In fact, it was quite a pleasant day for a walk, and while I wouldn’t relish a six-mile (or more) round trip walk, perhaps she did.

I didn’t see her the rest of the day. I hope she got home safely.

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Photo credit:  © creaturart–stock.adobe.com

Today I received notification of a memorial service for a woman, Rose, who’d been an active part of our congregation. I didn’t know her well and likely won’t attend the service, but the option is open to attend via Zoom, which I may do. For those of us who do use the Zoom option, the program was provided.

I opened the file and to my surprise I recognized the picture on the front as one I’d taken when Rose completed a course sponsored by my church. She was recognized during the service for her hard work and I took the picture for our Facebook page.

I was touched to realize that the final image many will have of Rose will be that photo. Looking at it with the objectivity of time, I recognized that it was a good picture of her, natural and relaxed.

Someone once called me the “church documentarian,” a title that surprised me as I primarily took pictures for the Facebook page and no formal catalog was kept. I don’t know how my priest remembered this photo and what she had to do to dig it up. It can’t be easy going back on Facebook.

It reminded me that the simplest things we do can bring blessings to others we don’t even recognize. Perhaps there weren’t many pictures of Rose available or perhaps her family was scattered across the country and no one could provide a photo in a timely manner.  I don’t know, but now friends and family will have this picture of her to remember her by.

I haven’t taken a photo for my church Facebook page in months for obvious reasons, but now I’m eager to get back to it. If you do any sort of volunteer work, formal or informal, know that what you do is appreciated.

Rest in peace, Rose.