Continue to Say Yes

I did a video of each portion of my daughter’s school choir concert that she was in, not the whole thing at 90 minutes-I'm buying the DVD. With her vocal jazz group, they did four songs between curtains of the large school choirs. I took video, but darn if I can figure out how to convert to the right format that uploading won't take three hours. Their second song was the more modern of version of "I heard the bells on Christmas day". She though sang the intro, the traditional carol version, acapella which then moved into violin and then the young men's voices. The entire song was beautiful, almost hauntingly so. I'll try getting to YouTube which I sometime have better luck, though it still takes hours. She managed with her cold to get through both performances, followed by her show choir holiday party. The tired and sick kid left the house at 10:30 in the morning for final rehearsals and wasn't home until after midnight. Needless to say I let her sleep in as late as she needed on Sunday.

DD1 is here. I'm not sure what all her plans are this week, but she has well deserved time off until New Years. She spent yesterday seeing her friend that was married last spring. I'm not sure if I shared, but she is expecting a baby. It's funny, DD1 is the one who lives away, but yet it is she that makes sure to reach out and provide the connection. It is important to say yes when you have opportunities to see and be with people that are important in your life.


No place did that strike me again as being so true as sitting in a woman's beautiful Minneapolis condo last night, surrounded by old colleagues, some current friends, people that all care deeply about my friend A. After sharing that treatment for her tumor would end, her request was that people create memory books, pictures, video's for her children. That is what we did last night, those that worked with her on child care and early education policy. I'm less familiar with Minneapolis than St Paul, particularly at night, so I picked up another friend (also A) and we went together. I hadn't seen a few of the guests in years, many now retired, but in bonding over shared stories and messages to A, we were all friends again. On a Sunday night in December, it would have been easy to pass on going, pass on driving 45 minutes into the city. I get comfortable in my home on winter evenings, hard to want to leave. Being with this group of folks was my opportunity to say good bye, at least mentally. A had a massive stroke on Friday and her remaining time will just be with her immediate family and inner most friends.


2017 was a year with so much pain, sadness, and grief for people in my life. Young people should not need to grow up without their fathers and mothers. Parents shouldn't need to say goodbye to their children. Seventeen year old athletes should not get cancer. Still in all the grief and sadness, love comes through. Miraculously, my friend’s daughter is in full remission. My brother and DH's uncle's family were safe from hurricanes and my son safe from California fires. My niece was married. My nephew had another baby. My family is doing well in our jobs. And, my daughter can sing about peace like an angel.