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It's been far too long since I've been here. It's been an unplanned hiatus for which I have many excuses - family birthdays, sales for my little craft business, fund-raisers, memorial services, day-to-day responsibilities, babysitting duty, a sinus infection, not enough 'alone time' to focus. All are real and true, but not legitimate reasons for not writing. Being completely honest with myself, I haven't been inspired.  It's been far too long since I've been here. It's been an unplanned hiatus for which I have many excuses - family birthdays, sales for my little craft business, fund-raisers, memorial services, day-to-day responsibilities, babysitting duty, a sinus infection, not enough 'alone time' to focus. All are real and true, but not legitimate reasons for not writing. Being completely honest with myself, I haven't been inspired.
It happens to all of us. We go through times that we simply can't make or force something to happen. For me, it's rare. I always have opinions, ideas, thoughts, plans. My mind never shuts down. There are unending projects to work on and things I want to accomplish. But being inspired is a whole different ballgame. Inspire, as defined by Merriam-Webster:
I welcomed the first week of November with all of the inspiration it provides, beginning with the feast of All Souls. Though it wasn't the main message at Mass that day, my pastor spoke a bit about inspiration, about the Holy Spirit breathing life, love, strength and courage into us to keep us moving forward after the loss of a loved one. It reassured me that my creative drought wasn't for lack of desire, ideas or love for my granddaughter. I simply needed to become inspired again. We've been blessed with unusually warm, record-setting weather this November. Monday was a wild, gusty day. Leaves rained down from the tree outside my living room window and I was inspired by the changing of the season, the quick switch from bright and beautiful foliage to bleak and barren branches. How appropriately the falling autumn leaves relate to the death of my Kitty Rose. So very abruptly her bright little life ended and our lives became bare. On Saturday, our family served lunch at the Ronald McDonald House located in Children's Hospital - Minneapolis. Mandy and son-in-law stayed at the house for two days while doctors tried to revive Kitty. We return twice a year to both honor Kitty and to help - in a very small way - other families with severely ill children. Seeing the faces of the exhausted parents and grandparents as they make their way through the lunch line and listening to those who wish to tell their story inspires me to stay strong ... to keep moving forward with hope. Yesterday, I attended an annual event at Children's Hospital, intended to help families get through their first holiday season since the death of a child. As part of the program, small groups were formed for parents, siblings, aunts and uncles and for grandparents to discuss upcoming plans and how things will be different this year during the holidays. Obviously, I've already survived three years of Thanksgivings and Christmases and my experience with my own grief coalition puts me on the facilitator side of small group sharing. I had never been part of a support group as a participant. Another unique and inspiring opportunity fell into my lap! Listening to these newly bereaved grandparents talk about their families' holiday plans and expectations gave me a boost of inspiration to do something different with my own planning for the season. Praise God for the events of this past week, for inspiring me to boot my computer this morning, to be re-inspired and strengthened. Today I pray that all bereaved grandparents be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and recognize the gift of inspiration. May those gifts help them express their loss and may they find strength and comfort through that expression. Amen.
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