Bittersweet

Have you noticed how the bad things happen right alongside the good things? I used to find it unnerving. But the older I get, I think I am just thankful that the good things are there at all. Here's what's on my mind:

I am very sad about the passing of Tim Russert. What a well-loved man. I'm glad his family got to spend time with him in Italy. And I'm glad he got to meet with the Pope. Apparently he collapsed while working on voice overs for Meet The Press. He truly LIVED right up until the moment of his death. And that inspires me. But I'm mostly just sad.

Mark and I laughed very hard today. Sydney and I had gone Father's Day shopping and to the Y and to Publix. I kept reminding Syd that the present was a secret until tomorrow. So we got home and I told Mark, "Hey, honey, I got you a little treat - one of those key lime pies from Publix!" And then, without missing a beat, Sydney goes, "AND we got you a WATCH from Target!" Mark and I couldn't stop chuckling in the kitchen while Sydney stood there looking at us asking, "What!? What's so funny??"

We are becoming friends with a family from Sydney's preschool. Meghan has breast cancer. Really bad. She is going through chemo before they can even do the surgery. Vivian is 3 and Will is 1. Bill is doing everything in his power to hold his little family together. It just occurred to me why Syd insisted on buying a head wrap at Target today. She was admiring Meghan's the other day. She also was admiring her bald head. Please pray for them if you think about it!

I wrote a MELODY the other night. Me, the lyricist. Just heard it in my head and plunked it out on my guitar. Making me think I have built this thing up in my mind to be a bigger deal than it really is. See, I had this delightful new co-writer from Pennsylvania on Thursday. (she reminds me of you, Elizabeth) After solving the world's problems for a couple hours, we wrote a lyric together. A good one. Such a good one that this little melody started haunting me. Laurie, my co-writer, was then able to "pick" it on the guitar - taking it to another level. (not that there's anything wrong with intermittent, clumsy strumming!) Next stop - writing a song, in its entirety, by myself!

See what I mean? Good, bad, good, bad. And so it goes.

There is a scene in one of my favorite movies, Shadowlands, where C.S. Lewis (played brilliantly by Anthony Hopkins) is lamenting the inevitability of his sick wife, Joy's, death. Joy (played by Debra Winger) says something to the effect of "but don't you see? The sadness THEN is because of the happiness NOW."

Life is bittersweet, indeed. But I can safely say that my life is way more sweet than bitter.