By Lori Carmody
It is just how it happens. We think that we are doing something because we have planned for it to turn out this way or maybe a wonderful coincidence lined things up for it to occur only to find out that more has been in the works than we could have even imagined.
Last week we ran into a friend we haven’t seen in years. She graciously invited us to the Seattle Symphony’s annual 10 Grands fundraiser that benefits schools and community programs with music and performing arts programs. A wonderful coincidence …or so we thought.
As many tabloids, blogs and books will testify, we are a generation that is weighed down with caring for both our children and our parents. Whether that is our personal situation or one we share because of supporting those in this situation, there are times when the weight is heavy. This has been a week for me of walking beside mothers who are nearing the ends of their rope as the school year winds down. They are feeling s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to hold one more crying toddler while running another to sports practice all the while coaxing homework to be done, rallying to prepare dinner and planning for summer time fun. It also has been a month of watching my tribe of women friends navigate the worries and demands of caring for their elderly parents as they have heart attacks, falls, increased dementia, moving from home to assisted living to nursing care facilities. With each transition comes the heaviness of realizing that their roles are flux – at one moment it being clear who is the parent and who is the child and that clarity slipping away perhaps a few moments later.
Sitting at Benroya Hall listening to the beautiful 10 grand pianos playing everything from Mozart to Twinkle Twinkle to Ragtime Boogie, a song is performed by Michael Allen Harrison and sung by Haley Johnsen that breaks into my entire month and sheds illuminating light on all the people and places I have traveled alongside. “Calling On Angels ~ your wings my shelter, Calling On Angels ~ following me. I hear your voices lifing my spirits, whispering love songs of beautiful dreams. “
Exhausted moms ~ Calling On Angels Your Wings Are My Shelter. Worried daughters and sons ~ I Hear Your Voices Lifting My Spirits.
For all of us who find life burdensome today for so many reason ~ When Were Together We Can Move Mountains, Calling On Angels, Never Alone.
Beautiful! So well written - You know how to touch the heart (this time with angel wings!)
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