We Must Always Keep an Open Heart

Today began with a breakfast date at 7:00 A.M. with a good friend.  We solved the problems of the world in our two and a half hours of conversation.  We talked about how who we are is formed so early in life, and perhaps because of the power of those experiences, even in old age, and with those living with dementia, the long term memory is the one which remains.  We shared lines from poetry which provided poignant examples for some of our conversation topics.  My friend, a poet, also had original lines for almost everything we talked about.

After breakfast, I met with my art group of five women, I have grown to love over the last four years we have been together. What a diverse and powerful group of women, all united by a love of art. The past two times we have met, we have drawn nothing, but have enjoyed our conversations so much that that overshadowed our artistic purpose.  However, we did master the ART of conversation.

 It is so nice to share reflections among the five of us.  Our eldest, mentor, and teacher, is an 88 year old.  We learned something new from her today (we probably already knew it, but it was re-emphasized).  We learned that we should never close our hearts--there is always time to learn something new about relationships, even when they relate to our children.  We think we know them best, we watch them grow, we see them change, but even then, there is always something else to know, see, and experience with them which will give us immense joy.  How wonderful is it to live long enough to see the almost complete evolution of our children--to understand them better, to finally get it, to feel joy from their joy.

The utter joy we saw in the eyes of the 88 year old we love so much, was so heartwarming.  It was a lesson in how we  have to always keep an open heart, willing to accept, appreciate, embrace, adjust, and most of all LOVE, no matter what.