And So It Is.

When I was in college, one of my professors spoke publicly about the experience of losing his wife. He talked about walking around in the world, in the days after her death, wondering how it could be possible that the sky wasn’t falling down. Wondering how so many people could be just walking around, living their lives, unaware that the foundation of earth that had just shifted.

Yesterday, my friend Tyson’s wife died. I never met Leslie, but I do know some things about her. I know that Leslie loved her son TJ and her husband Tyson in a beautiful, true way. I know that she was thoughtful and caring. I know that she had strength and bravery in the face of cancer. I know that, for 32 years, she was a light.

It is hard to imagine that the sky is not falling today.
It is hard to imagine that we all go about our lives as if today is the same as yesterday.
When today, Leslie is no longer in the world.

*****

Last Tuesday, my friend Betsy gave birth to her second child – Jett Gibson Delzer. With joy and reverence and celebration, we welcome his new, unique life into our world.

Today, at the Mataderos Fair in Buenos Aires, Argentina, people were dancing. Guitars strumming, lights and faces aglow, hands in the air, skirts twirling ... joy abounded in the streets.

And tomorrow is my Dad’s birthday. His years of living have had a profound impact on every aspect of my own life, in a way that leaves me shaking my head with wonder and gratitude. He has taught me about living a thoughtful life – a life full of love and laughter and abundant celebration.

*****

And so it is.
Joy and pain – intertwined in us all.
On our faces and in our eyes.
As we ride the bus and walk down the street and step into the quiet of our homes.

May we approach and carry one another gently.
With respect for falling skies and dancing feet.
And gratitude for the ties between us all.