I ordered my marriage neat, but ice cubes have been plunked in from on high and the damn things won’t melt. It’s colder than usual in here. We can see each and every breath.
I’d settle for watered down, that’d be fine from here on out. I just don’t want to choke.
No one would turn away a warm blanket either.
Today wasn’t the day for those kinds of conversations with my concerned mom though, because Uncle Jack died on Saturday and we were about to step into his wake.
Uncle Jack’s oldest grandson’s first child will be born tomorrow.
Another confirmed his residency yesterday.
There are things we’ll miss. That’s the deal we don’t have the choice but to make.
Smiles, hugs and congratulatory handshakes were given and shared in the lineup designed for sympathies and slumped shoulders. Life can be confusing but nothing felt out of place this morning because the end isn’t the end and it doesn’t have to be a sad occasion, even though it is.
*****
My oldest brother asked me and the middle bro to join him in a Whole Life challenge for the next 6 weeks. It’s a game to get better, to be around longer, and find happiness to boot. We self-assess and take points for this and for that: exercise, eating well, stretching, sleeping better and longer, hydrating, reflecting, that sort of thing.
It cost $49 to join. I’ve never been much of a joiner.
But this challenge isn’t only about me, and them, as individuals. It’s an olive branch from the first born brother to find a connection. That wasn’t spoken, it needn’t be.
The other two of us figured out quickly, separately, that it is $49 well spent, whether we lose a pound, loosen a hamstring or become more mindful, or not.
It’s $49 to not miss something that could easily be gone tomorrow or the next day.
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