Another Beautiful Day: Busy-ness of Life

I had a grim reminder today about the busy-ness of life. Actually, it's been a few days in the making. But let me set the stage for you:

Our next door neighbor, Wanda, has been battling cancer. She has been living next door with her daughter, Glenda, and family. We have been casual acquaintances with our neighbors, bumping into each other occasionally: at the mailbox, over a gopher mound between our houses, at soccer games, etc. We've even shared a meal at their house together. Wanda is delightful - always working in the yard, or playing golf, or flashing her beautiful crooked smile at you. I visited with Wanda about a month ago in her living room. She had lost her hair and was very clearly struggling with pain and lack of energy. But she still welcomed me and visited for a few minutes. I knew that she didn't have much longer in this present struggle. Over Thanksgiving, Rick and I commented on how busy the neighbor's household appeared. Lots of cars, people coming and going... We looked at each other and wondered "Has Wanda passed away?" No, couldn't be. They're just having lots of family in for Thanksgiving. We continued on with our life. Five days ago, Rick opened up the mail and was reading the newsletter published by the Country Club. He showed me the box that said "In Memory of Wanda Gregory." Again, we looked at each other and thought "Has Wanda passed away?" No, couldn't be. We would know if that had happened. This must be a typo... they meant "In honor of Wanda Gregory." But it got us thinking. I combed the newspaper and the internet website of the local papers, looking for an obituary. Didn't find one. And it was too late to call next door and ask... So the next morning we climbed into our car and journeyed back to the busy life we live. Every day this week it has lingered in the back of my mind. We really need to call next door. And did I? No... Everytime I thought about it, it was too late, or too early, or not convenient. This morning... 5 days after reading the "In Memory of" note, I googled Wanda's name. It led me to a Caringbridge website. Wow - I wish I had known this existed! Glenda had been updating it daily for quite some time. And as I read the entries, it hit me. Wanda passed away the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving. With tears, I read of her struggle, of the family's acceptance of the disease, and of their belief in the greatest healing of all. Here is an exerpt I took from Glenda's update. I don't think she would mind me sharing it:

Mom took her last breath on earth and her first breath in heaven at 10:35 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22. I was talking to her about the journal entry I had just posted. We were listening to Dottie Rambo. I suddenly said, "Hey Mom, if you go on, you could worship God on Sunday in Heaven standing next to Dottie Rambo! She grinned, breathed her last breath, and flew away.

Wow. That's beautiful.

And as I pulled out of the driveway this morning, I noticed that their house looked empty. At 8:30am, everyone was either at work or school for the day. And so, one more day begins without my reaching out to our neighbors.

I'm hit with the fact that our life has been so busy, we didn't even know that 2 weeks had gone by since Wanda's passing. Sure, I can try and sluff off the guilt by saying "No one told me!" But in my heart, I know that I'm the one that's too busy, caught up in getting from one place to the next, neglecting the little urges I had to call, or simply walk next door.

Right now, I'm thinking about how important relationships are. More important than the rushing around that I do. It feels like I'm always rushing about from one thing to the next, neglecting to take a moment to consider the relationships around me.

Today is Friday. I've got the fixings for a Chicken Pot Pie ready... Tonight we'll walk next door and hug our neighbors. We'll remind ourselves of the important things.