with Aunty's great grandson and my godson far right and his fiancee left
How memorable
was your Memorial Day (kick off into summer) weekend….take a closer look. If
you are anything like me perhaps it was even better than you think.
Mine started
out quite startling and harsh and ended up full of blessings and joy. As I stood
there this morning waiting for my water to boil to splash over my Nantucket
Blend coffee I realized I had just had a superior weekend full of blessings. And
the reason it is such a big deal to me is I am the type of person who always has
ten million fantasies going on about everything. So, when I think of Memorial
Day weekend, I imagine being on Cape Cod, or partaking in a big family cook-out
with Jimmy Buffet music playing and all my relatives there. Of course it’s 80
degrees and sunny. Then I might feel bad if I don’t get to do something like
that. But let’s face it, not everyone gets to have idyllic and perfect vacations
with each holiday. And, when I think of everything I experienced this weekend, I
may not have been strolling about Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard with my entire
family (which has been a long-time summer dream of mine) but, I ended up feeling truly blessed.
My weekend
went something like this. First of all I might add it was cloudy and cold most
of the weekend here in New England. I spent Friday at Mass General Hospital
with my boyfriend who is dealing with an extremely serious and complicated heart
disease. The procedure he was having was rather surreal and given all the worry
and anxiety surrounding it I almost collapsed. Needless to say standing in the
hospital waiting room I couldn’t have been any further away from those Norman
Rockwell-ish holiday fantasies in my head, but, then the blessings started to
come. And this weekend they came in all shapes and sizes.
A dear friend who knew I would be at the hospital all day came
by to comfort me while I waited. We sipped Tulsi Tea and meditated at a secret Zen
room we discovered. Later that day my boyfriend
pulled through the tests and procedure okay. I went home to sleep. On Saturday still
a bit shaky, out of the blue, while I was working an old acquaintance came into
the shop and after only a brief chat she took off her angel necklace and gave
it to me. She had no idea what I have been dealing with. She simply said, her
name is Grace and she was meant for you!
After work that day a kind and generous friend who I might add was a special friend of Aunty's too had just returned from Italy came to my home bearing gifts including a gorgeous Christmas ornament from
Venice and homemade tiramisu! She had taken cooking classes in Italy, scoured
all the local Italian markets when she returned, and it was the best tiramisu I
have had! Even my angel Grace was smiling.
Later that night my boyfriend and I watched
one of the best documentaries we have seen: Muscle
Shoals. I highly recommend it. The music and the people in it were all
amazing and I was really feeling good. The
main person in the story Rick Hall is a major inspiration. I think there needs
to be a monument to him.
the Shoals
Sunday morning my neighbor and friend put a copy of the New
York Times at my door. What a treat. A
while later as I sipped my Nantucket coffee I enjoyed an hour long phone conversation
with my mother. We laughed over funny stories and people from our past and
remembered with much affection some of our beloved and departed family members.
It was on that note that I went outside to gather some flowers and brought them
to place at Aunty and Uncle D’s grave. Something told me
they were so glad to see me and I felt connected and loved!
Then, having accepted an earlier invitation I drove over to
hear Auntys’ great grandson (a talented musician) play the drums at a local
tavern. I ended up spending the day with my cousins (Aunty’s granddaughter and her
kids, Aunty’s great grandchildren). There were hugs, and stories, music and burgers,
and future plans made. My godson (Aunty’s great grandson) asked me to stop by
and see his new nearby home for the second time. It was spectacular especially out
back where he just put up this Moroccan tent with lights overlooking his big
backyard. It may have been cold but my heart was thoroughly warmed by now.
Monday, Memorial Day, I caught up on some work (many of you know
I have some magic up my sleeves having created a sublime new product and am on
the brink of unveiling something out of this world fantastic)! And speaking of amazing, another
delight this weekend a friend took me to lunch at Organic Café in Beverly, Mass.
This organic and raw restaurant is so good I wish I could eat there every day. I
could really feel every cell in my body smiling with each bite and thanking me.
We dined on fancy arame noodles dressed in creamy sesame ginger sauce, sprouted
buckwheat pizza, and washed it down with a mint matcha latte. And no kidding,
it truly was delicious.
Later my boyfriend and I got invited to dinner by a dear friend
we both admire. She is the epitome of an artist in every aspect of her life and
cooks everything from scratch. There is never a crumb left. We took a rain check (something to look forward to now). But just knowing that someone you look up to
this much cares enough to invite you to dinner and drop soup off at your door when you are going through tough
times is a precious gift and blessing.
After dinner at home we poured coconut
oil over our organic popcorn and watched the film Whale Rider (a film I had first seen at the Nantucket Film
Festival). That movie is utterly enchanting and so well done. I went to bed
with a big smile. And when I woke up today, Tuesday morning, after the long
holiday weekend, I realized that I was a lot closer to Nantucket and a perfect Memorial
Day Weekend then at first thought. If you look closely at any holiday weekend whether
you are vacationing or not, my guess is there are so many blessings right under
your nose. And a wonderful thing about blessings is, the more you recognize them
the more they come…..especially when you are particularly grateful!
Can you count how many blessings there are in my story? How
many were sent by Aunty?
With love,
Renee, and that Angel on my shoulder, Aunty
