Sunset Nov. 9, 2007
On the first full day of our getaway to Florida my wife’s brother called to tell us that my wife’s mother, Elena Guarino, had died. Even though she was 91 years old, her death caught us by surprise. After arranging to fly to my wife’s hometown near Boston, we went to nearby beach Siesta Key to watch the sunset. Some of my friends refer to birth and death as sunrise and sunset. This beautiful sunset on Nov. 9th was a special for one for my wife Pat and me. Pat’s mom had loved going to Florida for some time every winter. As Pat’s brother, who is a Catholic priest, said in his homily at her funeral mass, she “was a person who prayed hard and played hard.” This was her sunset.
During this time in Florida and Massachusetts I was reading my friend Jim Forest’s new book The Road to Emmaus:Pilgrimage as a Way of Life. In the book Jim talks about “Interruptions and Surprises”. A pilgrimage by its very nature is an interruption from the daily routine of life. However, an interruption has a negative connotation. Jim says a real pilgrim in life looks on interruptions as ‘surprises.’ A surprise is a positive word, a word full of promises. So what started as an interruption of our vacation turned into a “heaven-sent surprise.” Pat’s mom has longed to die in her sleep, active until the very end. And that is just what happened. Just the night before she had been at a funeral wake for a friend, came home, had dinner, read her book and went to sleep. From her sunrise in 1916 to her sunset in 2007 she has been active and alive. God bless her and bless us who were privilege to know her.
In the days in Pat’s hometown I find myself a few times talking with persons about Growing Power. The interest in Growing Renewable Affordable Food (GRAF) is everywhere. Although it was not planned this way, the time away was refreshing and renewing. My interest in Growing Power was affirmed.
When I got home I found that my son Peter had watered my salad greens in the Growing Power Box in the Greenhouse — formerly the Sunroom — and all is well. When I was gone the weather had been warm in the 60’s. Now that I am back it is getting cold, in the 40’s. But I need to finish the cleanup of the garden outside and continue to nourish the garden inside. From Sunrise to Sunset and into the night we labor to get ready for our sunset of life
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