She wore a beautiful mint green top and white shorts as I watched her step away from her table and up to the bar. Drink in hand she rejoined her friends. It was group of 7 people, laughing, talking and sometimes listening to the music. A couple of hours later, Eric took a break and as I glanced around the deck where we were sitting, this same young lady in green caught my eye. She looked like a different person now. Her whole demeanor had changed; her voice was louder, her face was scrunched up with anger or pain and she had gone from beautiful and smiling to scary and unpleasant. Through the eyes of others at her table, I could see some of them were also surprised by her metamorphosis.
I was drawn back to a conversation at my table at that point. My friend Christie began telling me about a memorial service in honor of the mother of our mutual friend. His mother had passed away last year. It is a Jewish ceremony that takes place in the first year after a person’s death. It took place at her gravesite in Atlanta, Georgia and had just happened the day before. My understanding is that the ceremony includes Rabbis who deliver the prayers and unveil the gravestone. The purpose, I believe is to help in the process of moving on from the loss of someone after a year. The ceremony adds feelings of peace and understanding. It is a way of filling the empty hole in your heart with love and lovely memories of the deceased, thereby officially leaving the grieving behind. It is a nice and moving event for a very close family member. Certainly it is a touching process and deeply emotional.
As we talked, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this lady in the mint green blouse that I had observed earlier. She seemed upset as another lady knelt down near her. Soon, the two of them went to the restroom or went outside; I am not sure where but they left the dining area.
My Friend Christie was only on her lunch break and had to leave. She is always fun to visit with and I hated she had to go. Just as Christie was leaving, my niece, Nancy and her husband approached my table. I am always lifted up when I see these two. They are people who bring sunshine with them. Not enough is said about how much a room can light up when happy people enter. There is always a bit of gloominess and sometimes anger in a room, so Nancy and Jody are a welcomed breath of fresh air.
Time had passed and I got up to go to the restroom. As I stood at the sink, washing my hands I glanced up; I saw one of the ladies from the table that included the lady in the mint green. Then out of another stall, she staggered. Her words were garbled and her ability to stand was barely present. She said, “I’m Nadine and I’m drunk …sorta” I nodded and said “Well Hi! I’m Juanita, nice to meet you.” The other lady said, “She is going through a break up.” "Her husband left her because he says she drinks too much!” Nadine raised her head up and said, “I don’t drink too much, just when I am upset!” “Thats normal, right?” The room was filled with silence for a couple of minutes. Then she grabbed my arm and said, “Right?” I said, “Well, drinking too much doesn't really help anything, actually sometimes it makes things worse.” Her friend told me she was taking Nadine home. I was not sure what to do or say, so awkwardly I hugged them both and left the bathroom.
No life is perfect, everyone has their own issues and their “baggage” as it is called. I have had my share of obstacles in life. Death, loss, pain and uncertainty rain down on us all from time to time. It is tough but we are tough, we are resilient and we will survive these things we think we can’t survive. I wish I could have had a real conversation with Nadine, but she was not in the right frame of mind for conversation. I do not know her but I wish her well and I hope she is able to rebuild her life and be happy.
Sometimes a little pity party happens, that is part of life. I say fix the problem if you can, or cut your losses and leave it behind if fixing it is impossible. Life is far too short to waste even a minute being unhappy. Everyone has their own way of seeing things, that is mine.
There is enough anger and sadness, let's choose to be HAPPY!
No comments:
Post a Comment