Cheryl particularly looks forward to visiting with family and friends. She also is close with several women from grade school. They refer to themselves as the Clementines. Lately they have been meeting via Zoom because several of them are taking care of folks that have immunodeficiency in some way. Cheryl really misses the face to face interaction they used to have in a restaurant somewhere.

Today her brother Dan brings lunch. They will sit and talk about family things.

A few days ago many of her siblings gathered at a restaurant to celebrate Dan’s birthday. I was there. I refer to myself as Cheryl’s personal Uber driver but lately I pay closer attention so that I can help her remember what was said and who is doing what to whom. It is not a task that I relish. It is what I do.

As a family group, their generation is beginning to die off. The second oldest died last year in the chronavirus pandemic. They seem to talk to each other more about their personal lives. Most of them are very quiet about that. The youngest talks often about what is happening in his life. He is a new grandfather and soon to be again. All of them live locally within an hour drive.

Our two families deal with grief and loss very differently. My sister and I talk on the phone more often than we did when Mom and Dad were still alive but even so, we might go weeks without doing so. Our older brother and the oldest sibling died last Spring. Our core group has been reduced to two. My sister and I are separated by two thousand miles and three time zones.

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… And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Carpe Diem. July is almost completed.