Monday 12 September 2011

Life

There's a fine full moon right in front of my window.  Yesterday, in the early evening, there was a double rainbow.  This is a good place to sit, in front of the window, although I have to draw the curtain in the morning to mask the sun, as I sit facing East.  Not in a Dave sense, although I think Macy will be doing just that tomorrow.

I went to a funeral today, which I and all the congregation found very moving.  Dick had a long life, he was over 90 and his family loved him dearly, he was still at the heart of things.  His wife died last year, today would have been their 69th wedding anniversary.  There was a photograph of him at the age of 19 on the front of the service sheet, and his daughter's smile is just like his.  How lucky he was, to be married at 22 and have nearly 68 years together.  The tide has turned against early and long-lasting marriages; several of my friends have been married as long, or nearly, as long as I and the Sage have, but it will be a rarity for the next few decades.  There is the feeling that a first love can't last, that one changes too much, that early parenthood destroys careers - I don't know, as many later marriages fail as early ones and it's never easy to pick on the right moment to have a baby, when there are so many pressures and obligations.   I don't believe in right answers, just that we mostly muddle through somehow.

If there was one word to sum up that funeral and that life today, though, it would be Love.  Which is all that is left, at the end, that matters.

12 comments:

Rog said...

42

Unknown said...

48

badgerdaddy said...

I couldn't agree more, Z. I had a spiritual epiphany on a long run while training for the marathon. It may have been due to low blood sugar, who knows? But my conclusion after 22 miles made me very happy, it is my own interpretation of religion and spiritualism, and it works for me.

To paraphrase Bill Hicks, we have a choice between fear and love. For me, love wins every time. Without wishing to offend anyone, when I hear the phrase God is Love, it makes my skin crawl; I believe the reverse, and that the capitalisation is slightly wrong: Love is god.

mig said...

When we met we didn't really think about how long a marriage might or might not last, we just assumed it was a new and permanent condition.
We must have quite enjoyed it - 37 and getting better all the time.

Z said...

I seem to have outlived both of you, Rog and Mike.

A phrase can become trite when used mindlessly, there are those who find that God and Love are synonymous.

We've been married 37 years too, Mig. When we reached 30, I started to think of it as a long marriage, for the first time. And when the Sage looked after me so well when I'd had a new hip, I decided to keep him.

badgerdaddy said...

It's the god-as-entity idea that I struggle with, which is pretty fundamental to most religions.

As I said, no offence intended.

Unknown said...

I think I must be honest and straightforward and admit that the forty eight years refers, not to either of our ages, but to the length of time we've been married.
But I'm sure you realised that.

Z said...

The advantage of the C of E, Badge, is that God means pretty well anything you want it to. I doubt that my own ideas are entirely orthodox. I also doubt very much that anyone would take offence at what you said.

I rather did think that was what you meant, Mike. You were child bride and groom! Whereas Rog and Mrs Rine are Zaphod and Trillian.

Rog said...

I'm in two minds about Zaphod.

Z said...

Don't lose your head over it, Rog.

Roses said...

A quote that really struck me as I was doing some reading over the weekend 'Love is a verb.'

Yep, I think that sums it up really. Love is about doing.

Works for me.

luckyzmom said...

After almost 35 years (34 years and 10 months in 4 days), still choosing to love though some days it's harder to do than others. It is also more meaningful because I better understand