A Week of Connections
Life is full of ups and downs.
I wrote this the week before I broke my hip. It just did not feel right to send it out at the time. Yet it was such a fun piece to write, and there is so much hope in it, I wanted to get it out there. So I am sending it now just as I wrote it. Remember that when you read this, it was written the week before Easter:
“This has been a really strange and wonderful week.
Something unexpected happened to me this week. I was reacquainted with one of my oldest friends, whom I had not talked to in years. She has suddenly turned up here in Charlottesville, living with her children. And I’m thrilled. It is such a gift to have a friend who has known me since high school, someone who knew my parents and siblings, to talk to and confide in.
Also, another friend who was near death is struggling back to health, and it seems to be actually working for her. Then I went to a dinner party in Washington and inadvertently sat next to a stranger. He turned out to be a man I have known slightly online for 6 years. I did not recognize his name, but I should have, because he argues with me online from time to time. He comments on my posts every once in a while, and I comment on his, about all sorts of things. And now, suddenly, I met him in person. He couldn’t be nicer! I laughed out loud when I realized that I knew him. I said, “But you think I am crazy!” and he answered, “Not crazy, just wrong!”
This made me like him even more. If only everyone could disagree with humor and not let their differences of opinion muddy the relationship. It is OK to disagree!
I have a friend who is going through a very terrible time. Because I love her, it hurts me too. Several people I know are having various aging issues. It is frustrating not to be able to help. But everyone has to tread these pitfalls individually. You have to take or give advice, but each person must figure it out for themselves. It is so important to keep going, no matter what life throws at you.
I’ve been walking every day. No, not every day, but almost every day. I’ve been doing exercises, and I feel jubilant as I feel myself getting stronger. The weather has been cold but often sunny. Now it appears the weather will warm up quickly. The cool weather helps keep the multitude of flowering trees and bushes in fresh bloom. Hot weather will wilt them, and their petals will fall. Perhaps the hot weather will only encourage some stragglers to bud out. And then if more cool days arrive, the spring may linger much longer than usual.
My dogs, Sisi and Hercules, are a great pleasure as always. They are my fur babies. There are still two puppies living next door at my son’s house. I think they are permanent residents. They sure are cute!
Preparations for Easter are going forward. Even after Easter, the fun does not stop. A family wedding is coming up on April 25th. This is making me happy, busy, and grateful. Gratitude is the utmost emotion at the moment. There are sad things too, a funeral of a dear relative, which I can’t wait to attend because so many of my friends and relatives will be there. There are some friends with rocky relationships, some worried about relatives being deployed, God knows where…Life is full of sadness as well as many joys.
My house is in a bit of an uproar because I’ve been moving furniture, changing things, and rearranging certain rooms to make it look more inviting. With major help from one of my sons, I cleared out a large desk in my bedroom. It was very attractive in a way, but it took up the entire bay, which floods with sunlight in the early morning. The enormous desk blocked me from sitting there. The view from the three windows is beautiful. A brick terrace runs the length of my house. The terrace makes outdoor entertaining easy. The fields spread out beyond a small fenced area below the terrace, giving it such depth. Where the field drops off rather sharply, to emphasize the manmade lake that wraps around the bottom of the hill, glittering in the sunlight each morning. Two comfortable chairs sit next to a skirted table in the center of the windows. I sit and read, look at the birds, and get the full blast of sunlight that comes in through those windows in the morning. It has changed the character of the room. It sparks joy! Isn’t that what we are all interested in having in our private space?
I’ve been reading how important it is to get that morning sunlight. I try to go outside in the sun, especially as it’s rising. I don’t always do this, especially now that it’s getting lighter earlier. I’ve been walking almost every day. When I go for my walks, there are several trees conveniently close to the road. I literally go up to one of these trees and put my arms around it. I stay there for a while, absorbing the tree’s energy. If I’m lucky, I take my shoes off and stand on the bare ground. I am content.”
OK, that is the blog post I wrote the week before Easter, but never posted because I broke my hip two days after Easter. It is such a happy post, I did not want it to go unread. And now, 6 weeks after the hip replacement following the broken hip, I am recovering nicely. Walking is back on my list of things to do almost every day. And it feels like full-on summer with the last few days in the 90s. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same, except for my little dog Sisi dying. She is irreplaceable, but I have been sleeping with one of my neighboring son’s dogs. She is the mother of his litter of dachshund puppies. I think she is tired of her puppies (he has kept 2 of them) and she chooses to live here with me. That seems to be a solution that suits everyone. Life is full of surprises.
Copyright©. 2026 Bonnie B. Matheson
