New Year - 2020.

The passing of the year.

What did you do for me?  said I,
as I watched the dying year.
I would settle accounts with you, before you go from here.
You failed to bring all the things you promised at the start:
the fulfillment of my hopes, the wishes of my heart.

The Old Year opened his fading eyes
and said reproachfully,
I gave you opportunities and chances that you spurned,
many mercies undeserved and happiness unearned.

Had you only known, he said, I was a friend to you.
And as the Old Year breathed his last, I knew his words were true.....
I had been ungrateful, but it’s too late now".
I said, Forgive me, Lord and make me wiser in the year ahead.


💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

Judge not.☀️

Pat is recuperating in the nursing home after surgery, frail, tired, lost and alone. I invite him to our Holy Rosary, Pat has the most incredible smile.

Next day, I invite him again. This time he asks if I would please tie up his shoe laces, Pat does not possess bedroom slippers. I buy him some, he is thrilled: ‘You’re a great girl’, he says, smiling.

Pat’s family wonder why I gifted Pat bedroom slippers, he has no shortage of money they tell me. But it is not about money, it is far richer and deeper than that. To receive a gift for no reason is new to Pat.

He lives a reclusive lifestyle and will never cooperate with family members, I am told but dig deeper and as always there’s another side to the story. There are reasons why Pat is slow to trust. 

Pat is not a problem to be solved, he is a person to be loved, just as all of us are, each and every one of us!

‘Not all wounds are visible. Walk gently in the lives of others’.  (Eleanor Roosevelt)

          ‘Always have charity for where there is no charity, God is not there’. (St. John of God)

The Stable Door.🙏🏻

                                                    

They came that night to Bethlehem.

The simple and the wise.

The Shepherds and the Magi saw

The Glory in the skies,

And sought the Holy Manger Bed.

That place of Mystery.

Where God Himself had broken in upon Humanity.

The greatest men who walk the earth,

can offer us today,

No Diviner Revelation..

This, then, is The Way.

Though to knowledge high and vast,

the human mind may soar.

Every man must come at last

unto the stable door.

Allelulia🙏🏻☀️

                           

    When peaceful silence lay over all, 

and night had run the half of her swift course, down from the Heavens, 

from the Royal Throne leapt your all powerful word.

                         (Wisdom 18:14-15)

Beautiful Kathleen.❤️

                  ‘Those whose hearts are pure are the temples of the Holy Spirit’. (St. Lucy)

Kathleen, deemed unfit for purpose, evicted from her own home while still quite young to be reared and cared for by staff in St.Finian’s Pschiatric Hospital. Many folk in Kathleen’s locality had no inkling Kathleen ever existed until she passed away. Kathleen was revealed at her own funeral, shocking to the core.

Kathleen and I met when I worked in the high support hostel where she resided in her later years. At that time she was almost eighty years of age. It took quite a while for her to trust me, moody and angry, high wall around her, always alone. God only knows how she must have suffered up and down the long years. 

Glacially, Kathleen did begin to warm to me and I was over the moon. ‘Is it you who’s here today’, she would say smiling, obviously pleased that I was working on that particular day. 

Fiercely independent, Kathleen did her work with pride, setting  tables and cleaning up after everyone else. Sadly, for Staff members, I saw little warmth from any of them towards Kathleen, even less gratitude. Kathleen, however didn’t notice or care. She expected nothing and so was never disappointed.

One day, another client asked if it was Good Friday today and I replied  -  ‘Yes, Jesus died on the Cross for all of us’. Kathleen looking out the window uttered sharply - ‘I don’t believe a word of it’.  Jesus smiling sadly, whispered knowingly  - ‘No wonder’. Jesus knew only too well what Kathleen had suffered at the hands of unkind uncaring folk.

Fr.Leo Clifford rip. told a story about a District Nurse who worked very hard and the doctor told her: ‘I’m going to ask for a raise for you - God knows you deserve it’. The nurse replied, ‘If God knows, that’s all that matters because I’m doing it all for Him’. God had His eyes on dear Kathleen too.

I had the sublime privilege of praying ‘The Chaplet of Divine Mercy’ at Kathleen’s bedside the day she breathed her last. At that time, I did not possess the deep realisation of the Sacredness, Beauty & Gravity of death. I had no idea that there was no roof in Kathleen’s room that day, and Heaven had no floor. All of us together in one Sacred Sacrosanct Space. 

Nowadays I realise it deeply, each time I am privileged to pray with folk as they take leave of this world. Thank you from my deepest heart, Kathleen, I gleaned many gems from our beautiful friendship. Because of you, I know who God is.

‘The worst disease is not leprosy, but the loneliness of not being wanted, being left out, being forgotten.’. (St. Mother Teresa)

‘How many times do kings and queens allow themselves to be tricked into letting their pride reach the skies and their egos touch the clouds, when in the end they’re as forgotten as a pile of cow manure!’             (St. Clare of Assisi)

Dublin can be heaven.....🌠

                           ‘Make visible what without you might never be seen’. (Robert Bresson)

Heuston Station buzzing, euphoric revellers making the most of the Christmas madness. Pretty girls on a large stage wearing loud ‘Merry Christmas’ T- shirts. Music blaring, prizes to be won, tons of fun to be had by all.

Tucked in a corner Bobby stood stately as he played Leonard Cohen’s ‘Allelulia’ on a piano. Beautiful, no audience, he didn’t seem to need one. I offered him a Miraculous Medal, he accepted with a smile. ‘Do you ever pray’, I asked. ‘When I need to’  he replied. We shook hands and parted.

Outside Heuston Station a man walked erratically in my direction. My first thought to avoid him, seemed like the most shrewd thing to do, instead, I asked if he would like a Miraculous Medal. ‘I would love one’, he replied, kissing the medal reverently, his cheerful smile veiling more than a hint of sadness. ‘You have lovely teeth’, he said, as he danced or stumbled away from me. I was reminded of something I read recently - ‘Smile, sunshine is good for your teeth’. I was glad we met.

Grafton Street in festive mood, high spirits, glamour extraordinaire, flashy and insipid. She was crouched down on the cold cement, scantily clad, a paper cup in her frail freezing hand. She looked so young. As I placed money in her cup and handed her a miraculous medal, her pretty face lit up with the most heavenly smile. ‘Jesus loves you’, I told her. ‘He will help you, just ask Him’. Much later, I glanced in her direction not expecting her to recognise me in the madding crowd. To my immense delight she waved knowingly. I was overjoyed and now she will remain forevermore in my heart and prayer. In a most unlikely setting, we made a beautiful connection and now we are both richer. That’s life!

The gratitude and happiness of folk when I offer them a Miraculous Medal or Rosary beads touches my deepest heart every time, oftentimes they are moved to tears. Almost always, the money I gift takes second place. No doubt about it, there is indeed a deep hunger in all of us for God, a yearning for something beyond. A gaping hole that only God can fill.

Back home again with my gentle folk in the quiet of the Nursing Home, two very different environments yet fundamentally the same. We, all of us, have a deep need to be loved, to be seen. A kindhearted word and gesture, a helping hand in time of trouble are the only diamonds really worth getting  and giving. 

Observing glamorous folk almost tripping over a man in a sleeping bag on the pavement moved me to tears. They didn’t look down, if they did, they saw nothing. Man’s inhumanity to man. Folk dropping  money in a homeless person’s cup without even a sideward glance really upset me too. A simple hello, or even a nod would suffice, it costs so little to be nice. 

Next time I will be super organised for my stroll around Dublin, meeting and greeting my faceless, nameless sisters and brothers lost in plain sight on inhospitable pavements. We will exchange our tales of weakness, woes and wonder. We will drink coffee and devour Danish pastries. Saint Mother Teresa tells us that we find Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor. She should know, truth has a ring to it!

‘If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you’. (St. Thomas of Villanova)

                    ‘God and the poor await us, side by side’. (Mother Mary Alphonse: Servant of God)

Sunday morning coming down.🙏🏻🌸

Sunday morning in our family home forever etched in my deepest heart. Dad awake bright and early, preparing our genial pony Nellie to ferry us to Holy Mass in the little country Church five miles away. Mom too, preparing breakfast. Us children, super excited, donning our specially reserved Sunday best. Party atmosphere for sure 🎉 

Ours a humble cart, affluent neighbours travelling by horse and trap. They sure did seem a lot more upmarket than we were, comfier too possessing colourful snug rugs, while we rested on old coats. However, I do not recall ever feeling envious or disgruntled with our lot. We were appreciators not critics, as Sister Wendy declared, when she was being denigrated by the ‘real’ art critics.

Journey home, relaxed affair, Dad smoking his first cigarette of the day. He would never ever smoke a cigarette before he received Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist. Loyal Nellie meandering along, sedately, slowly, as we children sang all the way. Luminescence and sublimity in the ordinary.🎆

What a wondrous legacy bequeathed to us by our dear parents. They handed on the luminous light of Faith in simplicity and loving kindness, weaving it beautifully into our lives in gentle fashion. We owe them a colossal debt of gratitude.

Many years later, my little granddaughter Saoirse, gazing on this precious photograph, uttered; ‘Nan, you are in a Carriage’. Mom and Dad, smiling in Heaven, agreed wholeheartedly - Yes, to all and sundry it may have resembled a humble cart but to all of us, it was and forever shall be a Carriage. From the mouths of babes🌸

‘Real goodness is always simple. Simplicity is so attractive and so profitable, that it is strange that so few people are really simple’. (Leo Tolstoy).

‘Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world’. (1Timothy 6:6-7)

Today, 21/3/2023, St. Anne’s Holy Rosary. Mrs.O Brien, deep in Alzheimer’s (neighbour from our childhood) began singing a song: ‘Her eyes they shone like diamonds’ before declaring: ‘Pony and cart!! And you all sang all the time. We could hear you coming afar off’. 

Singular moment of sublime grace from God. What joy☀️🙏🏻

Sacred space.🌸

‘It is always springtime in the heart that loves God’. (St. John Vianney)

Rosie replete with the fullness of life, self sufficient, as she sleeps soundly in her cozy chair. It seems such a paradox -  How could Rosie be self sufficient and yet so helpless?  Life is a circle and when one lives life as Rosie has done, there’s a sense of completion and fulfilment. The harvest is gathered in, the story told. Now her time of peace and fulfilment, autumn’s golden days. We glorify God by accomplishing the work He has given us to do and Rosie has done just that. 

Holy Rosary begins, the Day-Room comes to life. I am humbled constantly with the response from my beautiful folk, to the unaware eye they are all sleeping soundly but once we begin everyone is singing.

Rosie calls out her decade, animated and happy. This hour of prayer and song will keep her with us for a time and when it is over, she will return to her safe haven in her heart. As Thomas Merton wrote: ‘Now I am grown up and have time for nothing but the essentials’.

To be in this Sacred Space is a little piece of Heaven, in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined my life journey would lead me here. Stumbling upon wonder is walking with Christ.

‘Always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan’. (Saint Carlo Acutis)

One time when I realised I had abandoned some object yet again and was looking everywhere for it, I complained to Rosie: ‘I am such a clown Rosie’. She replied gently: ‘Oh no dear, don’t talk about yourself in that fashion. Others will be more than happy to do it for you’.

Sage words I pass on to many💎. Only this morning, I complimented a lady on how well she was looking. Her reply: ‘I have gained weight’. Prime opportunity to offer Rosie’s wonderful wisdom. The lady smiled, appreciating every wise word.☀️

Gentle Giant Pat.❤️

Pat was a resident in the High Support Hostel where I worked for a time. Tall silent gent and apart from 'Thank you' whenever I served his meals, he spoke no word. Pat was well accustomed to being ignored and overlooked, he knew no warmth from staff, in fact they were wary of him. 

Pat struck out at a fellow client one time who pestered him for a cigarette yet again, and so he was deemed dangerous. He spoke no word in his own defence, he didn’t expect to be listened to and he was probably right! Pat was fragile, beautiful, and deeply hurt by uncaring unaware folk up and down the long years.

With the passage of time, Pat began to trust me, we never had any long conversations but we were happy to be in each other’s company. When the High Support Hostel closed, Pat got his very own apartment, he had carers but he lived independently. I got to witness his delightful smile for the first time ever, gentle Pat was happy and free. When I asked where his sunshine smile had been hiding all this time, he whispered: ‘I don’t know’. 

I saw him out walking with his two Carer ladies one day, ladies walking ahead chatting and laughing, Pat trailing along behind slowly, ignored as always. Carer ladies sadly missing out on a golden opportunity of a lifetime.

Last time I met Pat, I gifted him cigarette money. Pat’s gift to me - his delightful brand-new smile brighter than a thousand suns. Last words we exchanged on this earth: ‘Will you pray for me Pat’ - ‘I will’.

Pat died unexpectedly that night, God rest his gentle soul. Next day, when I heard the sad news, I wrote in my journal:  ‘Last night, Pat died suddenly, unnoticed by everyone but God. No one saw Pat leave this world, everyone saw him arrive in the next’.

Pat had the last place in this world and now he has a high place in Heaven. ‘He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly’. (Luke 1:52)

Thank you Pat for gracing me with your presence and so much more, you are forever in my heart. Because of you, I know who God is.

‘One has not lived in vain who learns to be unruffled by loss, by gain, by joy, by pain’.
 (Angelus Silesius)

‘Some people feel the rain - Others just get wet. (Bob Marley) ☔️

I love walking in the rain, feeling of newness, being washed clean. I love the criss/cross streams on the road, little rivulets going about their business. No wonder the Indians call rain ‘Liquid Sunshine’

I keep it to myself, my love affair with rain, and with very good reason. It rains a lot in this place and  conditions are oftentimes nigh impossible for the poor farmer. It can be burdensome too for folk who desperately need light and heat to keep their mood upbeat and positive. Then there are those who love to gripe and so the persistent rain is a useful tool to keep themselves miserable.

Growing up in the country, I whiled many wonderful hours away with my beautiful Dad. After God and before my boys, he was my most favourite person and best influence for good in my life. Dad was a simple fisherman/farmer - simple in the most wonderful way. He loved the sea - ‘One must always respect the sea’, he would say. 

He loved interesting conversations where he gleaned wisdom from someone older and wiser than himself and he loved to pass it on to us, his children. He loved nature and I fondly remember walking in the rain by his side. With Dad the mundane was always magical. ‘Never be without your Holy Bible, Atlas and Dictionary’, he would tell us and to this day my ancient atlas is on my bookcase. My Holy Bible is my treasure. My dictionary is never too far away. 

I remember clearly, Dad gutting mackerel and pollack, lots of them, at our humble kitchen table, late into the night and suddenly shouting with glee - ‘The one I’ve been waiting for’. Us children, filled with curiosity, shouted ‘Why that one, Dad’ and his reply: ‘The last one’, relieved in his terrible tiredness.

Then one day, I learned that I had won a scholarship to a Boarding School in another county. My Dad dearly valued education and wished, with all his beautiful heart, for us, his children, to enjoy what he never had. I understood that very well but the thought of leaving home filled me with a deep painful loneliness. ‘Will you go Bridge’, he asked. ‘I would miss you too much Dad’, I replied. I didn’t go, I attended Secondary School in our local town instead.

My Dad lived five years more, the length of time I would have been in Boarding school. Without a shadow of a doubt I made the right decision and I am so grateful to him for accepting it. I learned more about life just by being near my wonderful Dad than I could ever have learned from the most eminent mentor. Dad had a degree in simplicity, kindness and wonder, he possessed humility and nobility. 

Nowadays, as I spend valuable time with my beautiful folk in St. Anne’s Nursing Home, I am super grateful to God for my life, surrounded and loved by folk who don’t just talk the talk - they walked the walk every step.

Today is your forty fifth Anniversary, dear Dad. You didn’t die, you never will. You live forever in my heart and with God in Heaven.

‘He taught me the things that every child should know, things about gardens - how to plant and sow.

 A love of walking, striding stick in hand, down the green ways of Nature’s Wonderland’.

 (To my Father - Patience Strong)

He had no great possessions. With wealth he was not blessed. No riches for his children, but this was his bequest: he left them all the glories of dawn and sunset skies, the woods, the brooks, the meadows, birds, bees and butterflies. The salt wind on the marshes, the blossom on the tree, the flowers, the fruit, the sunshine. This was his legacy’. (Patience Strong)

Clever Crows.🦅

My carefree crows congregating on the tall trees at the end of my garden, cacophony of sound wafting it’s way through my open window, I love them with all my heart. New babies born, big excitement. I love the way there’s always one crow watching over each nest at all times, making sure babies are safe and sound, as they chat across with one another, swapping baby tips from their strategic perches. After a time, when the babies are strong enough to fend for themselves, I love how they fly together, parents and children, singing and shouting for joy, loving every minute of the august gift that is Life.

‘O come let us sing to the Lord! Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into His Presence with thanksgiving; Let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! (Psalm 94:1)

Just when I am certain they are fast asleep and all is hushed in crow land, off they go again in a burst of radiant exuberance. Their joie de vivre fills me with gratitude to God for the wonderful Gift that is Life. They teach me that no day is an ordinary day, every day is a new day, never to be repeated. That Life is a priceless precious gift from Father God, a sublime adventure to be lived and enjoyed, and not a prickly problem to be endured.

‘Said the sparrow to the robin, ‘I’d really like to know, what motivates those foolish mortals, as they rush around and worry so. Said the robin to the sparrow, ‘I think that it must be, they have no Heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me’ (Elizabeth Cheney)

‘Let all creation help you to praise God. Give yourself the rest you need. When you are walking alone, listen to the sermon preached to you by the flowers, the trees, the shrubs, the sky, the sun and the whole world. Notice how they preach to you a sermon full of Love, of praise of God, and how they invite you to proclaim the greatness of the One who has given them being’.                                                                    (St. Paul of the Cross)

We are children of the Most High God.🎶

Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will’. (A.W. Tozer)

Kitty, 93 years of age is pensive, far far away in her own secret world. A colourful shawl thrown gracefully over her shoulders, exquisite jewellery from another era, her soft grey hair pinned back in  elegant pins. Death terrifies her.  ‘But you know Jesus’ I remind her. ‘Your folks will be there, all excited to see you again’. Kitty smiling gently, whispers, ‘I must not forget that’

Most days she hears the most beautiful music and for the longest time she was certain that all others in the Day-Room could hear it too. It starts up out of the blue keeping her glorious company. ‘Did you hear it today’, I ask. ‘Yes’, she replied. ‘It was very beautiful’. Mystery is not to be understood, it can only be entered into. One is never too old to be surprised by Joy.

‘You are soaring Kitty’, I say. ‘We are all chickens for a time but we must not remain chickens, attached to the earth. We must become eagles, flying higher and higher all the time, taking to the sky rather than remaining grounded. We are summoned to life on high with God’. ‘Tell me that every day’. Kitty whispers, what a Divine assignment is mine.

‘Those who have pure souls are like eagles and swallows which fly in the air’. (Cure D’Ars)

This is our destiny and while we are down here on our journey home let us never forget that the Lord our God is living within us to sustain us, to uphold us, to inspire us, to encourage us. If ever we forget that then we are in deep spiritual trouble. I must remember who I am - a child of God destined for Glory.

‘In the measure in which we can detach ourselves from earth, poor mortals that we are, we are allowed to fly to God’. (Sr. Mary Jean).

If on lonely roadways distant music you can hear - the music must be in your heart and nothing need you fear. Up the hills and down the valleys you will swing along - marching to the secret rhythm of an inward song. 

When the way grows dreary and your dearest friends depart - you will never weary if there’s music in your heart. You will hear a note of joy beyond the rugged slope - and catch upon the bitter wind the golden voice of Hope. (Patience Strong)

Pour the oil of God’s Love over everything.🕯

Jack called very early, agitated and upset. Family member celebrated a significant birthday and Jack was not invited. He has struggled all his life with mental health issues. Once when I asked him what ‘a bad day’ felt like, he replied:  ‘Burning pain all over my brain, like my head is full of eggshells’.

I share with him my similar tale of woe. Recently, I too was ready and waiting for the invitation that never arrived. Just like Cinderella, I didn’t get an invite to the Ball and my new glittery earrings are still in their glittery box unworn.

I felt rejected and very irrelevant but slowly it dawned on me that I was indeed in very good company. Jesus, Himself, knew all about rejection when He walked this world and if my life is walking with Jesus, then the lowly path is my path. ‘Be content to be a nobody, says Jesus’. (Sr. Wendy)

Laughter is indeed the sun that drives the winter from the human face, Jack’s beautiful smile returned and order restored once more. Walking with Jesus is always the better option. 

We make the Cross lighter for Jesus by striving to make it lighter for another. When we give ourselves to others, our hands, our listening ear, our hearts, a wonderful thing happens, we are happy, fulfilled and fully free.

‘To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of Arts’.  (Henry David Thoreau).

Jesus said to Gabriel Bossis: ‘Be full of joy when you are misunderstood or overlooked because that makes you just like Me’. (He and I)

Bridie’s Prayer.🙏🏻

Bridie is almost totally blind. She can see shadows, she can sense when someone is very near. Whenever Bridie is praying her Rosary decade, I always sit directly in front of her. She is almost totally deaf too, and nowadays, dementia is entering the mix of her life. Oftentimes she gets confused and upset but as soon as our Holy Rosary begins, she immediately relaxes, happy and content. Holding her Rosary beads brings her profound peace. At the close of our Prayer time, she calls out Saint Teresa of Avila’s prayer from her deepest heart:

Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God, lacks nothing. God alone is sufficient. Amen

Bridie leads, we follow. She has no idea how many of us are here with her in this cozy Day-room. She has no idea of the the difference she is making in this Sacred Space. She cannot see a staff member rushed off her feet, stopping in her tracks for a brief moment to absorb Bridie’s consoling words. As far as Bridie is concerned, she herself is totally dependent on the kindness of others, contributing nothing. Nothing could be further from the truth, how I wish I could let her know......

Bridie, a refraction of the Light of God, is radiant and beautiful as she utters words of comfort for all of us. When she utters; ‘God alone is sufficient’, we imbibe into our deepest spirits that sublime uplifting gem, coming from a beautiful lady who knows. 

One fine day God will let Bridie know the huge impact she made in the lives of so many. ‘How can that be Lord’, she will ask in utter amazement, dancing for joy, flabbergasted, over the moon. 

‘It is amazing what you can accomplish, if you do not care who gets the credit’. (Harry S. Truman).

Let nothing disturb you.....................

Age is honourable.🌺

Natalie, beautiful lady in her late 80’s, looking years younger and it is my sublime privilege and delight to spend some time with her every week. We pray Holy Rosary and talk for hours.

She has quite a tale of survival, Natalie’s marriage did not turn out the way she expected or hoped. She reared her large family in the midst of many sacrifices, baking bread late at night for school lunches a daily occurrence for Natalie. 

I listen with rapture as she recounts her return to Ireland, beginning again with small children in a farm deep in the country, no modern conveniences. Strong faith and superb health sustained her, good-hearted neighbours too. One lady in particular took Natalie under wing. ‘She was a real mother to me’, she fondly remembers. I ask if she would like her memories written down for posterity. Smiling sadly, Natalie replies - ’To be honest dear, sometimes it is best to forget’. Bouncing back she laughs and says, ’Laughter knocks the sting out of it’. 

What a privilege to be in this Sacred Space, soaking up wonderful wisdom from a lady who walked the walk. Most experts know one subject intensely, Natalie knows many, she is a fully fledged expert.

Much talk these days about caring for our elders and that of course is an exceedingly noble cause. Caring ABOUT our esteemed elders is even more crucial, in my humble opinion. Listening to their treasure trove of wonderful memories greatly enhances our lives. Our elderly friends, many lonely, would benefit greatly too from the camaraderie. Winning combination all around.

All stages of life are relevant, all stages of life bring their joys and sorrows, all stages of life are important. Glorifying youth and beauty has cost us a lot - our elderly have been pushed to one side, our society has silenced their voices. ‘The hopes of a lifetime can be read in the wrinkles on the faces of older men and women. That is why we should be very fond of our wrinkles. They are signs of blessing, of work, of a life that is offered, a hope that is lived. We have lost the treasure of their wisdom and so we lack role models. We get lost’. (Pope Francis)

The older fruit trees produce the best fruit, never too late to make a change. Let us act now, while we still have time.

‘The best classroom in the world, is at the feet of an elderly person’. (Andy Rooney).

Today, 17th July 2021, Natalie passed on to her Eternal reward. We were so thrilled to meet up again in Church a few weeks ago, Natalie and I. Our last time to be together as it turned out. Although Alzheimer’s was lurking, we both knew we loved each other dearly and now we are in each other’s hearts forevermore. Love never dies. Jesus tells us so and Jesus word is true. Allelulia.

‘Where the elderly are not honoured, there is no future for the young’. (Pope Francis)

Do good anyway.🎆

‘Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway’. (Saint Mother Teresa)

Marina is always her gentle kind self but her room mate cold, unkind and dismissive. Staff brought to my attention that oftentimes she could be mean to Marina, I was so hurt for my dear friend. However, when I asked Marina about it, I got the distinct impression that she was not upset at all. Either, Marina was not aware or she chose to ignore.

As time went by, I began to notice a distinct change in Marina’s room mate, she became warmer and began to converse more with Marina. When her family brought fancy cakes, she would always keep one for Marina. It was a pleasure to visit with them, mammoth contrast to the way things used to be.

Thing is, Marina did not change, she continued on being the kind caring lady she always is. As a result, lady began to change. Her heart softened and instead of her usual bossy demeanour, she seemed kinder and smiled much more. Quite remarkable and got me thinking....

We can do nothing about another’s actions but we can do plenty about our own reactions. If we just keep on keeping on, doing what is best and right, we can help change for the better our little patch in this beautiful world. Like Marina, if we keep on doing the next right thing.....

‘Trust in The Lord’s mercies, and do what is right; cultivate the piece of ground He has given you,
 and all it’s riches shall be yours’.  (Psalm 36:3)

‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way’. (Victor Frankl)

Beauty is God’s handwriting.🌺

Marina talking aloud to herself as I approach her room. ‘What’s up’, I ask. ‘I’m preaching a sermon’, she replies, smiling broadly.

Our first encounter took place in Fertha View High Support Hostel, where Marina resided and I worked for a time. Beautiful immaculately dressed lady, lipstick for sure, completely alone in the world. One day each week she would walk the short distance into town, loving tea in her favourite cafe. She dined alone, talking aloud to herself the whole time. Folk viewed her as that ‘weird strange lady’  and so she was mostly shunned and avoided.

We had tea one day and so began our amazing friendship and big wake up call for me. Marina didn’t expect to be addressed, she had grown very accustomed to being ignored. When anyone would stop to chat with us, Marina would literally step back, physically & mentally into her ‘invisible’ zone. Shocking!

Hair stylist would ask me (never Marina) ‘How short’  Marina would like her hair. When Marina needed any new clothes item, again the shop assistant would address only me. Beautiful invisible Marina! How often poor lady must have felt deeply offended up and down the long years.

Little by little change came about. I would look to Marina on such occasions and slowly she began to participate, Marina was being included and consulted. By the time she could walk into town no more, she was much loved by all.

Nowadays, Marina is happy and content in St. Anne’s Nursing Home. We both thank God from our hearts for our everlasting friendship and we never forget how it all began fourteen years ago. Sublime gift from God that keeps giving.

‘Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting, a way-side sacrament’. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

‘Fix your eyes on Love. No matter what happens to you or others - within or without - look on Love alone. And Live’. (Catherine of Genoa)

Rosie ❤️

Rosie’s son asked if I would spend time with his Mom, Alzheimer’s beginning to raise it’s unwelcome head. Next day, I visited with Rosie, beautiful lady full of life and so interesting. I became her companion, what an adventure!!

We enjoyed long walks, we picked wild flowers. We bought brown bread and ate too much of it every time. We sat in silence in our Church, lit Holy candles, prayed Holy Rosary. We both love God, Nature, and crosswords, we sang a lot, we laughed more.

Eight years have passed, Rosie is now in St. Anne’s Nursing Home. Our long walks over, brown bread eaten, crosswords confusing. Prayer, song and laughter remain, Love in abundance too for sure.

Rosie might never miss me if she never again laid eyes on me, but every time I visit we are right back where we have always been, Love never dies. Animated telling me all about her trip up the mountain with her Dad. Her Mom’s wholesome delightful dinner, hens laying lots of eggs, neighbours all well. 

Rosie’s stories, real or imagined are wonderful as she smiles and laughs, reliving every glorious minute. I am back in school being read to once more.

Friends of Rosie ask me how she is doing. I reply; ’She’s smashing, visit her if you wish’ . Almost always, they ask that question;‘Will she recognise me?’ They do not visit, they see no point to it. They would not know how to behave in Rosie’s new strange world, the term ‘Alzheimer’s’ terrifies them. How accurate was Soren Kierkegaard when he said; ‘Once you label me you negate me’. 

If only Rosie and her colleagues would be accepted and loved the way they are right now. Their lives are changed, not ended. If we, their friends, would adjust our way of thinking and behaving, out with the old, in with the new, we would all of us travel together happy and content on a brand new life adventure. Altered  friendships instead of broken ones would ensue, win/win for everyone. 

‘We are all in the same boat, we are all seasick, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty’.                       (G.K. Chesterton)

 

This leaf I picked as we sat together, Rosie and I, enthralled with the exquisite beauty of Autumn. My bookmark now, laminated for posterity. 

Nancy Reagan, who’s husband Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, endured Alzheimer’s, articulated it as; ‘The long goodbye’. 😌