Sunset

      

     Soon my husband and I will be flying off to an island in the Eastern Caribbean for a few short days of rest on the company tab. My husband is quite the salesman and has won another trip in his effort to provide for our family. It will be great to have some alone face-to-face time while tasting and experiencing a foreign culture with a new stamp in my passport. I most look forward to viewing an endless expanse of ocean and waking to bold morning sunrises. The evening bursts of color streak across the celestial easel reflecting all the way from the horizon toward me while I witness Sir Dusk surrendering to the Nocturnal Guard.

     For just a few sacred moments, the rosy hues dance until they fade from sight. I'm reminded of trips with sunsets framed by the Tetons, reflections across the Gulf, the Pacific, and the Caribbean.

     Sunset. This time of life is approaching my ninety-three-year-old mother, the matriarch of our family. 

      At three-thirty, early on Valentine's Day, my phone rang. It was Mom calling me from her rehab to let me know that she was experiencing difficulties with her heart and would soon be at the nearby hospital's ER. 

     A little disoriented due to just a few hours of sleep, I concured and promised to meet her ASAP. I showered, all the time pushing away fear-filled thoughts that darted to and fro to dominate me. In defense, I proceeded to declare healing and peace over my mother. 

     Today was also the anniversary of my parent's first date, so in order to lighten the mood while we waited for more test results and a room for the night, I asked Mom to recall her feelings and events as her eighteen-year-old self. I wanted to hear her tell the story again of how years ago my parents began their romance that propelled them into seventy-four years of life together lasting until last April when my father breathed his last breath.

     I saw the transformation in her countenance. She was transported in time to her younger unencumbered self. Her vibrant self in college that had not experienced a difficult childbirth, the loss of a beloved husband, or failing health. 

    A giggle erupted and a silly grin. She first recalled her roommate's reaction to the momentous phone call that turned Mom's world upside down. 

     "You know, I was expecting a call from another young man to ask me out," Mom started, "but instead, Frank was one who called me." 

     Mom stopped and added, "My suitemate ended up marrying Norm, the young man that failed to beat your father at asking me for a date." 

     Mom was surprised and didn't expect Dad to call her, which explains why she gave a cool 'yes' in response to my father's ardent request for her to be his date to the Valentine's Banquet.

     Innocence and purity were cherished in their circles back then. My mother went on to experience a beautiful romance with this generous admiring human for seventy-four years. They both grew up to enjoy a gentler kinder era. It's been hard for them to comprehend the raging demands that their daughters, grands, and great-grands face in the dating scene today.

     At this sunset in her life things slowed down a bit. No pressing demands for projects to be completed, no punching the time clock, no kids needing a chauffeur, or waiting to be fed.

     Sunset is such a rich time of life. Plenty of time to embrace good memories and savor the conjoining emotions. Now she envisions the people who knew her, she analyzes past challenges, and how together they managed them. In the end, the act of releasing the bad memories and being grateful that she survived them, serves as an exchange for an abundance of peace...before the clock strikes twelve.