Jilly Brandon

It’s the scent of summer morning rain.. the sounds of it cascading forward from the great sky above.

Rocking in my chair on what I have dubbed, “ The Southern Front Porch,” I am just enjoying the scene in front of me.

The birdies are so happy. They are singing with pure delight, taking in this bathing experience. Warm wet pavement, the male cardinal is vocal, and he doesn’t care who acknowledges it, he sings because he can’t help himself. The air is cool, and without much humidity. The plant leaves open up full to take in this fresh gift from the heavens. They drink deep. They are grateful .

People walk by cloaked in rain coats, and umbrellas, dogs on leashes. The heavens are grey, with the occasional darker shaded cloud floating by.

I was going to wash my car yesterday. Of course, because each time I get the desire to do that..it rains.. This time I didn’t give in to taking “ Vivie,” the Volvo through the car wash, and “ Le voila,” nature did the job.

I am grateful ..The little things are the big things.

Always..

A face time call from your son, a chance to see his face, and see his physical reactions to the words that you speak to him. His smile, his laughter. Hearing about his life, and the goals he is setting and achieving. It makes this Mamma Bear so content, and thankful . I can’t help but smile when I recall the encounter. It is the icing, the accoutrements to daily living that makes the heart sing with pure delight.

It is a day to write, to reflect, to pray, and to acknowledge how much I have been given. Gratitude is the overflowing cup that does not run dry if you keep filling it up.. true story.

I fell down the other day… while walking.

I stepped out onto the crosswalk that is cobblestoned, and because I was not watching my steps, I landed my right foot in a missing piece, and fell face down , sprawled out, upon the road.

A lovely gentleman with his dog was kind enough to help me up . A passer by in his Ford pick up yelled,

“ hey.. are you ok!”

“Yes, “ I answered rather sheepishly.

I struggled to stand, as traffic halted and waited. My left knee was sore and wobbly, and my right ankle appeared to have twisted in an unrighteousness direction, but other than that, I think I can make my way to the other side of the road.

I continued stepping forward, as the gentleman and his dog fell into step beside me.

“Are you sure you are ok?”

“Yes, I think so, except my knee appears to not agree, and is a little stiff right now.. I think I just need to walk it off.”

We continued to walk and to and talk. I sensed that he needed somebody to chat with. He began to unwind his story.

His daughter had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at 17 years old. The day after her diagnosis she had to undergo a series of operations. She was now 19, and in the “maintenance faze,” after chemo. He was spilling out their family story in bits and pieces. His name was Byyorn. He met his wife in Holland, and he was a retired commander from the Air Force. There was no history of cancer on his family. His daughter’s name is Erica. They also had an elder daughter too.

Erica is beginning to get stronger, but she has lost a year in school. She desperately wishes to finish strong, and graduate with her classmates, but her Dad has his doubts about this.

I’m not sure how far we walked and talked all along the trail, but I know I was meant to run into him that day.

I told him about my daughter, and her passing away at 17 years old, and I talked about my two grown son’s Zach and Logan. It was like a therapy session with a complete stranger, yet somehow we were connected over buckets of sorrow, and love for our children.

Maybe heartbreak draws fellow heartbreak near.

I passed the “angel’s wing” again.

It was left hanging over this branch, and every time I see it, as it’s laying there balanced between earth and sky, it feels as if a broken Angel left it there for me to discover .

Sharing your pain with another along this path called life is life affirming. There are things you are more likely to share with a complete stranger than you could share with your own family. Finding a fellow traveler, and that’s what he was because he had been lots of places in this world, was invigorating and satisfying.

I shared with him near the end of our walk that I would be praying for his daughter, Erica. He thanked me, and we separated at the fork in the road.

Don’t even get me started on that. I feel like there is an entire cutlery collection on this trail. Remnants of knives, forks , and spoons lay scattered like broken branches and twigs upon the forest floor. Dreams that were dashed, and hopes that were squashed, and flattened like a fresh floral bloom that was stepped on.

There is the path ahead, and where it leads to next we can only wait and see.

Sometimes you need to fall down so that another can pick you up, and your lives can intersect when they are meant to. Allowing and acknowledging this is soul satisfying. The moments when you just unfurl your being and expose your inner self, so that they can share with another is “a bittersweet symphony.”

Byyorn spoke about backpacking through India for 10 weeks a few years back. He said the experience was fantastic, and transformative. It made me think of the film with Julia Robert’s, “ Eat, pray, love.”

The simply complex and ethereal beauty in nature is life affirming, every place that your eyes rest. The absolute wonder of it all never disappoints. The air is saturated with fragrance, lilac, wet wood, floral blossoms, and damp earth. The rain from the heavens has made everything fresh yet again… and the scents have been reborn.

Byyorn, through “ make a wish,” was able to get a dog for his daughter. He remarked about how he had to go for walks daily now because he had this dog. I remarked that maybe he was needing to do that anyhow, and now he had an excuse.

I shared with him how our family was able to enjoy “ make a wish” with our daughter. When she was 3 years old, we went to swim with the dolphins in Key West, Florida with “ Island Dolphin Care.” It was a fantastic experience for our entire family, as we each had opportunity to swim in the warm sea with these amazing creatures. Such a gift.

There is a movie, I believe on Netflicks, called “Wishman,” it is the story of how “ Make a Wish Foundation” began. I highly recommend it.

Byyorn mentioned that because of coved, and how it’s tentacles had reached into all of our lives, that “make a wish” was not doing travel experiences right now, but instead getting and giving pets to families that needed comfort because of a sick child.

Pet therapy is the best, but these wishes are so important to families that receive them . It is important, because it is a memory that is imprinted upon your heart for the rest of your life. It is a comfort.

Falling down often requires some strong hands to lift you back up again, but as you rise, you can with some bumps, and scraped knees, twisted ankles, and shaken up .. but rise you will, if you keep moving forward.

A metamorphosis is taking place within and without. Time does not stand still .

I found a cookbook in the “ free” section at the end of someone’s driveway. It looks to be from the 1970’s. Little surprises all along the way, unexpected, but so welcome.

More trash to treasure.