93 YEAR OLD

I ran into an "old friend" last night at an art gallery opening...Vesta Stern has her 93 birthday TODAY. She has been a UU for 69 years...and used to own a craft store. I can't wait to hear more about her life. Who do you know who has stories that you'd love to hear? I'm hoping Vesta will tell me some. Call her to wish her a happy birthday, she doesn't do computers.

Sorry about posting this also on FaceBook, where some of my friend might read it again, as well as some of hers.  I hope this helps her have a sense that we still care about her.  She's living in an Assisted Living Facility here in Black Mountain, and no longer drives very much...not at night or as far as Asheville any more.  There is another reason she doesn't make it to church much...the Sun. meal is served just at noon, and there's no supper served on Sun. night, so she would miss eating lunch and dinner if she came to church!  There's an obvious answer to that.  I hope someone will offer rides to church and lunch with her sometime.

We are all getting older, and those who are the most senior of us should have the most respect.  Don't you think?  I think we're also afraid that when we get to our oldest years, nobody will be around to help us out. 

That is serious business for us individualistic independent people, who never felt we should need others, nor wanted to be dependent upon them.

Last night I dreamed the feeling of rejection from my first love.  That utter dispair that somehow I wasn't right, I wasn't "the one" for him, that I was inherently not good enough, is a dispair that I know others feel also...though of course not for being rejected in love.  The commonality is the feeling...no matter what the cause.

We can all feel dispair and depression.  We can all feel alone. 

We can all feel love.  We can all be compassionate.  We can ask for our circle.

That's how my dream ended.  I asked for a circle of friends to care for me.  I am so glad that I've become part of a circle of friends, which is my "virtual family" for when my real family is not available, nor able to give their love.  And if I should outlive all those I now care about, I hope there will be a new circle of friends that can give and receive love to/from each other.