Life Escaping Life
My parents are here. It's a visit I was looking forward to for a long time. Then, as these things go, the afternoon of their arrival came, and Dylan and I drove to the airport to pick them up. Soon, we'll be making that trip the other way around. And their visit will have gone by in a beat, reduced to a single flash of coffees, lunches, and walks.
To counter the stream of thoughts between the present and their departure, I'm trying to punctuate the inevitable rush with moments of clear, pristine attention, anchoring my presence, stealing time from time.
I pause to feel the cool under my feet when we shuffle on the sunsetting sands and notice Mom's shadow melting into mine.
I keep my eyes closed a tad longer as the tip of my nose touches Dylan's cheek, and I make a mental snapshot of my Mom and Dad appearing in our frame as I open my eyes again.
Before I walk out on our terrace to set the table, I stop and hear the ocean's roar mingle with the voices of my favorite people.
I taste the wine and mirror my Dad's laughing lines. We are fleeting—life escaping life.
And though no moment of focus takes longer than a few seconds, it's the closest I get to making them last an eternity.
Hi, All! How haven you been? 🌿 Even though the summer lingers on the west coast of Portugal, our little family is going into wintering. Our lives have halted for rest and reflection since saying goodbye to G's father, Grandpa Teo, who passed away on October 2. In his final days, he sported a handsome beard, the softest eyes, and an open heart. He was ready and went in calm. We're both sad and grateful that he's no longer suffering. We will miss him dearly and look forward to discovering more of his quirks in Dylan as the years unfold.
Words
I added six books with the usual takeaways to my old bucket list challenge Read 100 Business Books, marking 91 total now.
Code
On my site, I added a loading state to the Map feature and session storage to keep users' city selection as they navigate to and from the Map page. Slightly messy PR.
Quote I'm Pondering
Grief must be witnessed to be healed. – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler, On Grief and Grieving
Pausing,
With love,
Mirha
⏳