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Writer's pictureKaren Astromsky

Time?



“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller



Today started off with darling pics of my grandson, Jameson, at his 9 month checkup. Feeling so happy for this little boy--and my son and daughter in law, and seeing how well he is growing (Jameson is all Hawaiian rolls (LOL) in the 85% for height and 80% for weight)makes my heart burst. My son's 35th birthday is on Sunday. I was writing his card, printing photos of us at our family reunion, feeling full of even more love. And then, at the same time, I got a text that my godmother, my Aunt Linda, passed away in hospice this morning. She had been ill with metastatic cancer. Unbeknownst to us, she went into hospice today. There was my world. Upside down in a blink. That gave me perspective on time.


My Aunt Linda is one of my mom's younger sisters. She heroically came to my aid when I was 21 and really needed her help. As a young bride, she moved to Memphis when her husband, my uncle, became the first CFO of a little known company at the time, Federal Express. I was visiting her in Memphis at age 11 when Elvis died. I didn't know what that meant, but the whole town was sad. The last time I saw her was in Memphis last April when I went to meet Jameson for the first time. She was doing pretty well then.


Aunt Linda was connected with St. Peter's Home for Children--which is the agency that helped me during my pregnancy and eventually led me to choosing adoptive parents for my son, John. So there it was. The beginnings of life--and the very endings. In the span of an hour.


At my "spicy" age of Heinz 57, I do sense that time is moving quickly. How Lou and I have three grandchildren (Bjorn 15 months, Lydia 12 months and Jameson 9 months) doesn't seem real. Fifteen months ago we had none. My house has a nursery set up, and I have a car seat installed in my vehicle. Didn't I just have all this for my girls?


I feel a real turning of the wheel today. I feel that a baton is being passed and that a precious connection is gone. This gives me pause for perspective. This reminds me of what is really important. This makes the loving, the knowing and the sharing of life experiences the very glue that holds us together and keeps us from coming apart--mean even more.








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