WORDLESS

The simple things of life can sometimes leave us not knowing what to say.  Our actions I  am reminded speak louder than any words.

My visits at the Nursing Home were very short yesterday as it depends if those I visit feel like talking.
I knew Irene who I had just met last week was not well so I thought I would pop my head in the door and
carry on; but it was like she was waiting to talk to someone.  Here I was like her angel she said come to listen and spend time with her.

She is lying on her bed, fully dressed, and beckons me to come in.  It felt depressing to see her looking so frail with her lunch growing cold beside her bed.  Some one had the time to bring it up but had had no time to be with her.  She wants to talk and tells me about other visits she has had with the staff who clean the rooms and have time to talk as they work.

There is a natural rhythm to our conversation as we are at ease with one another.  She asks me how I am but does not wait for a response.  She is determined to do the best she can and usually gets up each day with the attitude that life still has much to offer her and she wants to keep moving.  just getting up and getting dressed shows her attitude towards whatever the day will bring.

She is a very charming lady and a delight to visit and to listen to.  She insists I take a chocolate bar when I leave as she wants to give me something.  Little does she know that she has already given me a lot by being honest with me and God about what she sees as her wretch condition, her stubborness and how little her soul seems to her at that moment in time.

She accepts that for her there will be days of solitude and to learn to accept sience and stillness as a positive grace. I take it because she has a need to give.

Dad meanwhile has gone out shopping to buy a pie plate and a new slow cooker.  He is getting motivated to start cooking and even baking.  What kind of pie would I like he asks.  Lemon seems like a good choice.  He has a mix that he is going to use.  He likes to have good utensils and cooking pans which reminds me of when I use to be enthused about cooking.

Today dad and I will journey to the library and then visit Pearle together in the hospital at White Rock.
We both went visiting with her to this same place.  At first Pearle would take turns driving but finally she had to give that up.  I would pick her and her walker up and off we would go.  Dad took over when he started working as a lay-chaplain until the whole program changed and it was time to quit.

It was so good to talk to Carol and Panteli on the phone last night.  They are having lots of rain but the hurricane has not hit there because they are protected by Cuba.  That is good because they are such a small place.

Hopefully we will talking to Ken today according to the plan.  We are concerned about the changes in his life and especially the loss of his job.

Hopefully Mary and Michael John are now getting settled into their new place in Kitchener.  He already has work and Mary expects to get a job soon.

I asked Leah and Craig if they want to have supper with us at the church where the fellow will be talking about his work in Haiti.  It will be good to hear first hand what progress is being made.

It feels and looks and smells like fall.  Leaves are tumbling to the ground and pumpkins are appearing in the fields and on door steps.  Neighbor houses are starting to be deck out in scaring scenes of graveyards and ghosts and cobwebs.

I am unusually aware of the passage of time as my friends near and dear to me are going through times of failing health.  It is a time when one discovers how very rich and deep people are on the inside and there is more freedom to be honest and loving.