9 p.m.
Saturday night
Felt like a going out night
when I was much younger
Feels like a movie night
then and now
Feels like a staying home night
to read, to watch a movie, to be home.
“Saturday night is perfect for writers, because other people have ‘plans’.”
~ Mike Birbiglia, storyteller, comedian, actor
In the evening
I listen to poetry
Tonight
Desiderata
Listening to the wisdom
I’ve lived with for decades,
my belief is unchanged
in all the seasons of my life.
“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.”
~ Max Ehrmann, Desiderata (1927)
(1872 - 1945)
*Listen on YouTube - RedFrost Motivation
bread pudding
simple
cinnamon spicy
delicious
“The proof of the pudding is the eating.”
~ Miguel de Cervantes
on a bench far from the bell towers, the air silent save for
the raucous calling of crows
to interrupt this peaceful Sunday morn; crunching leaves, dry cracked earth,
squirrels scampered, a backyard barbecue grilled juicy hamburgers.
a woman played with her child on bright blue and red swings. I imagined
the tolling of the bells -
their music drifting into the sky,
settling over the city in peace and calm.
“For bells are the voice of the church;
They have tones that touch and search
the hearts of young and old.”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
the rusty leaf hung suspended
~ caught in a hammock
of fine silk webbing
across the side of an old elm.
an industrious spider’s lunch
or the web's autumn decor ?
“The difference between utility and utility plus beauty
is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web."
~ Edwin Way Teale, naturalist
(1899 - 1980)
Curling leaves
Crumbling leaves
Fading flags of autumn
“I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet
chill of pumpkin, and crisp sunburnt leaves.”
~ Ann Drake
 |
| From 1978 Class Reunion |
There has been nothing like reconnecting with my nursing classmates ~ Class of 1968 as well as the entire Nursing School. These Regina General Hospital Nursing School reunions have been held annually for decades. The only break was during the Covid 19 Pandemic. Tonight the oldest woman there, graduated from the class of 1949. Classes celebrating their every five year reunions had red roses on tehir tables and were the first to be called for the buffet line. Our early alumnae suppers were when few of us had grey hair, our joints were all still working, and we talked about our little children - first days at school, basketball games and early morning hockey practices. In those years, I had wanted to renew that part of my early adult years. So many new friends, new experiences, laughing over student nursing experiences, boyfriends, young marriages and the gift of finally free of high school, and really being grown up. Tonight was another in a string of our annual Alumnae Luncheons. We changed suppers to luncheons as the work of the ages was catching up on us. Now most of us with white hair, some walkers or canes, a daughter accompanying a mother. Now we talk, just as non stop, about grandchildren, school events for them, driving kids to the practices when parents are too busy. The conversation, non-stop, turns to new experiences, travel, laughing over student nursing experiences, husbands and health conditions only if there are funny anecdotes, concerns for classmates that are unable to attend.
We are a special breed of retired nurses who spanned careers from the bedside to university lecture halls; public health nursing and school nurses and many more that I can’t name tonight. Why are we a special breed? Because few nurses educated since the mid 1970’s will have such glorious reunions of their school alumnae. We lived in a residence, had our classes and trained in the same hospital and were together for three years. When we are together with each passing decade, our numbers grow smaller, but we still sing our school song at the end of the night. We are still connected to our past selves - in fact we almost become our past selves even if for just 2 hours.
“You’re off to great places, today is your day,
your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.”
~ Dr. Seuss
Author's note: I used large print for those of us that may prefer it.
