It's been snowing all day so it looks like Christmas this Easter of isolation. Easter is bound up with Joanne, who was truly an Easter person. Her final birthday was on Easter, April 1, 2018. Now it's Easter on April 12, the second anniversary of her death. Plans to place flowers in church in her memory on this day fell victim to the pandemic. My thoughts of her are filled with memories of Easters we shared beginning in 1964 and ending in 2018. That final Easter/birthday was the last time she ate a meal at the table. She was strong enough to stay there for almost two hours, 12 days later she died. Today the presence of absence is acute.
In the biography of Frederick Douglass, by David W. Blight, Douglass is quoted as saying "Memory is given to humanity for a purpose." P. 531. That purpose has several facets such as helping us plot the future. It is also a gift for the bereaved as he/she treasures the life which was shared. "No,you can't take that away from me.
Even as a I make my way in the land of grief I'm struck by how blessed I am as I contemplate the suffering exacerbated by the pandemic. When have so many suffered so much? Warm, safe and fed, I count my blessings.
Takk for alt,
Al
PS. Here is little historical context for us in the "new world," this excerpt is from an email from a friend in Norway.
"We also miss church, especially Norway Easter. It is first time in 1000 years that all churches have been closed for weeks here in Norway. That is for the history books!"
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