Blessings of the Lowly Places: Everyone has their Story

 

Thanksgiving Musings and the Bounty

of Family

We were all together for that afternoon..

            November brought us all together for Thanksgiving for the afternoon. We feasted on the

 Thanksgiving foods and shared out time together. Telling old family stories and laughing.

Everybody has their Story.

            An old friend almost moved in but it didn't work out for a number of reasons. After

the stress of that moment I set out to relax in the pool in St Paul.  As I rounded the corner I found heard a pop and an exhale. Then Whoosh! My tire was Flat! I pulled into a little driveway overlooking a barren area under development and called AAA. A cheerful voice said "It will be 15 minutes!" and so I waited as the clock struck 4 pm. The time passed. The sun went down and darkness set in. An hour went by. I passed the time by drawing my way through although I felt a myriad of emotions. It was hard. My drawings reveal my struggles to feel trust as my feet got cold, as I reached to Trust and not be scared and to be in the moment. Drawing my way through as usual.

                                

Weary time kept ticking and finally an hour and a half later Eric called and told me to put on my flashers Blinking, blinking into the dark night I waited! Finally he came. A stocky good looking bearded guy. As I sat in the warm cab he banged on the tire and could not get it off. We towed it to my house.

I carefully drew him with Too Many Cars to Count around him.

I was home safe and did not have to think about the car for a day.

As frost gathered on the window

As my pillow froze on the windows.

As my cats slept and snored.

As I slept

As the season turned into deeper winter.

TODAY

 

As snow turned the roads into beautiful white ribbons.

I woke slowly and made my way downstairs to have coffee and wake up.

Finally I called AAA and my tow truck guy came soon. He was tired

having towed cars all night long. He hitched up the car.

I drew him and we talked. He told me he was native american

I leapt through the years and we talked about baseball.

I drew him and gave him the drawing.

Arriving at Tires for You there was a long line of cars and Oh No!

I had forgotten to bring my car keys! 
How absent minded of me!!

He was patient although tired as we waited for my sweetie to bring the keys.

Finally he came and I was in my car driving it in a very lumpy dumpy way

It was slow.

I texted and sighed.

And tuned into my daily Jewish Meditation Class which felt miles

away (it is on the east coast) and meditation felt rarified as I dealt 

with waiting in line. Finally at a snails pace we moved along.

I got out of my car and met Ahmed in line behind me.

We smiled and he handed me his snow brush so I could brush

the snow off my car

I did not say a blessing over the fluffy white snow

But I felt a Blessing rise in me as I looked upon that familiar

winter sunlight that illuminated gritty 3rd avenue briefly

transforming it into a numinous place of insight and in

that brief moment I was grateful

and felt how winter sheds light on the inner life.

then the sun faded and it was gloomy.

It was all very slow and I truly felt I was going nowhere fast.

Finally I was inside and I recognized it all as I had drawn the workers and 

the place when I was there in June. There I sat in the lowly place among the

cars, tools, grease and dirt. It is a fast paced place.

Edwin remembered how I had drawn him and 

I remembered how I like to draw people who aren't seen.

and thus the blessings flowed down on me. 
He got me two good tires for a real good price

.  

A Tale of Memory and Hennepin Healthcare

As I waited a man came up to me smiling! It was Chef Don who made such great meals 

when I was at Hennepin Healthcare with my late husband Josh 6 years ago.

Memories and moments flooded back of how I would go eat such a great inexpensive meal 

prepared by him in the midst of so much chaos, uncertainty and challenges.

.    
     Chef Donald                                                                                         Michael the Dishwasher

                              Oh so hungry hardworking Hospital Workers 

                  ......and so the moments faded and the years floated away and I remembered....

                  We embraced and bid farewell .....knowing we would meet again.....

          And I drew Hassan....... he was impatient waiting for his car to be fixed...and I asked if I could draw him.Always a vulnerable moment....he waited and then he turned to me..and I looked into his face......and there is that tender moment as I look up and down at my pad... drawing and looking and feeling...He exclaimed!! "Amazing!"   "Amazing". and I gave him the drawing.

                             My bill was so reasonable...and I felt somehow the blessings had flowed down 

    to me....and there on that very busy day...the guy I gave my payment to was in pain from a recent appendicitis operation... I drew him a healing hand... 

I left and drove on beautiful ribboned roads all around the lake

Loving winter for only a few minutes

until I felt the challenge of driving on ice all over again.

But my back wheels carefully guided me home.