No, not The Lion King. Although, we did take a few LK pics of Olive when we first took her home...
This week, within seven days, we were on schedule to experience what we've been calling our "circle of life week." Sunday, the most touching wedding I've ever attended; Friday, a celebration of life (in lieu of a funeral) at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens; and today, our godson's second birthday party.
We've been excited to learn new life lessons, meet inspiring people, and celebrate with the people we love. Unfortunately, as we were (literally) reminded at this week's wedding, "No matter what you plan for your life, life has its own plan for you..."
The celebration of life, though not as outwardly celebratory as the wedding, was brimming with love. On beautiful, cream-and-grey striped paper, the widower lovingly wrote a page about his wife, affectionately known as "the Minx." He told us about her joys, her strengths, and her struggles. He wrote with so much love that he included some aspects of life that many people would feel uncomfortable discussing. Because, however, of the accepting and supportive nature of this particular family, they were able to discuss, work through, and triumph over temptations and challenges as a family.
Of the Minx, the letter to guests said, "She never nibbled at the edges of living, she was all in. If you were with her, it was fun...nothing was boring." The stories shared about her brought me to tears and I was touched, once again this week, to share in a beautiful and heart-warming celebration.
These two parts of our circle of life week, wedding and funeral, have been tremendous reminders of the value and importance of love and fleeting nature of life. We've been blessed with meeting multiple people with whom we share an intellectual and spiritual connection.
For the conclusion of what we thought would be our circle of life week, we were scheduled to attend our godson's pirate-themed birthday party. Because of some (major) complications, however, plans changed. We were unable to finish the trip down to South Carolina for the family and celebration time, but thankful that we are safe. Our Yaris is currently getting treatment outside of Richmond, but will hopefully be taking visitors soon...
We're so sad to miss the festivities, that we sent some pictures of our pirate costumes to the hostess, my lovely cousin, to convey our dashed hopes of attending.
This week, in terms of life lessons and being mindful in everyday life, I've been reminded (read: beat over the head): Plans can be helpful in achieving goals, making priorities, and following through, but Life truly does have a plan of its own. Labels: Life
