TheBanyanTree: Forever Ours

[Margaret R. Kramer]

It’s wonderful to get up each morning in this old house.  Even when I get up
at 2:45 am on weekday mornings and it’s still very dark outside, I love
peering through the blinds and looking at my neighbor’s lightless windows,
and I feel good knowing that they are tucked into their beds and dreaming
about the day to come.

I managed to find my new club this week and am in the process of getting
used to a slightly different workout routine.  This club is smaller and more
intimate than the big suburban club I was going to before.  Its equipment
isn’t new and they don’t have as much of it, but I can still find a way of
keeping fit.  On Fridays, I’ll drive to the club near where I work so I can
swim my laps.  The little club in my neighborhood doesn’t have a pool.

It’s been great to get back to working out again.  I gave that up towards
the end of tenure in our old house.  I was full of anxiety and couldn’t
sleep, so I sacrificed working out for an extra hour of sleep.  Then, our
first week here, was spent unpacking, which meant moving boxes up and down
stairs, and that was a workout in itself.

Ray has been working hard in the massive garage after he gets home from
work.  He’s built his workbench and has added many shelves, so most of our
“garage” stuff has now found homes.  It’s nice that we have room to grow in
this smaller house.

The weather hasn’t been so warm this week, but I’ve managed to get Axel out
for his neighborhood walks each evening.  The boys came over one night this
week, so we pumped air into their bike tires, and mine, and did a little
bike riding.  They played in my garden area since nothing is growing there
yet with their sand toys.  We took Axel for a walk right before some storms
moved in.  It’s nice that we’ll be able to see the boys more often.

So it was a getting “back to normal” week with little twists, because of our
different location and our house layout is really different.  It’s been a
good move and I’m so glad it’s over.  I feel like I can be myself again.

Now I can think about things other than selling our house and buying a house
and moving.  My mind is clearing out and I can get back to reading again.  A
few years ago, I read a book called Forever Ours.  It’s written by a
Minnesota coroner, Janis Amatuzio, MD, and it’s a collection of stories she
heard from various clients when she sat down with them to discuss autopsy
results on family members.  These stories were about various ways the dead
ones  had of communicating with their loved ones after they died.  It’s an
amazing collection and the book is very comforting.

A few weeks ago, I got a flyer from a group that was going to have Dr.
Amatuzio speak, so I and a couple of friends from work made plans to go see
her.  The event was held at the Town and Country Club, right on the river.
It’s a private golf club and it was so elegant.  The appetizers were great
and filled us up better than a dinner would have.  And the speaker . . .

Oh, my gosh, I haven’t heard such a wonderful speaker since Maya Angelou.
Dr. Amatuzio grabbed our attention from her first words and didn’t let go
until she was answering questions.  She wove her stories to emphasize
certain points she wanted to make.  And there was one story after magical
story.  We were all so glad we were at this wonderful event.

I often wonder and worry about death.  What is it?  How is it going to
affect me?  Is it horrible?  What keeps us clinging to life?  Dr. Amatuzio
didn’t answer these questions, but she provided some good things to think
about.  I can accept these ideas from her because she is a medical
professional and has been for many years.  She has seen many strange things
in her career.

Since her presentation, I’ve been filled with a contentment I haven’t had in
a long time.  Of course, I was very stressed out about the house, and now
that big stress is gone, I knew I would feel better, but there is an
additional sense of peace I haven’t had for a while.

It’s funny how the strings of a person’s life will twist and wind together,
and somehow, Dr. Amatuzio helped me untangle some of mine this week.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
~Margaret Atwood