BLOGOPHILIA WEEK 12.7 ~ WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY...AGAIN.

BLOGOPHILIA WEEK 12.7 ~ WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY…AGAIN.

BONUS POINTS:

(Hard, 2 points) Include the word “aprosexia”

(Easy, 1 point)   Incorporate a gypsy proverb or saying

 

WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY…

 

It IS something that we do, we human beings, isn’t it? At times of great joy and happiness,

And in times of heartbreaking sorrow, we gather together with others. We are (somehow),

I believe, wired to share our joy and our grief. During times of tragedy, we seek support and

a shoulder (or even a few) to cry on, and in times of great happiness, we want to share

our joy with others, maybe not so much to make them happy, as to amplify our joy

by numbers. I guess that is where that saying comes from, about seeing people in our

our families, or best friends, only at weddings and funerals?

 

I don’t believe humans were meant to be solitary creatures. We are not “pack animals” like

Dogs or wolves, and we don’t herd, like horses and cows…but we “gather” together in

Numbers to celebrate and to grieve, and we are the better for doing so.

 

The last time I heard those words…”we are gathered here today”, was last year, 2013.

I found myself shivering on a cold beach in Chicago, Illinois, on the 27^th of November,

A Wednesday…not just “any” Wednesday but the one right before Thanksgiving Thursday.

 

I did not stand shivering alone…oh no!  I was in the (good) company of a smattering of family

and close friends, of my niece Catherine and her partner Allyson.  Both women have nicknames

--so from here on in. I shall call them “Cat and Ally” (easy to remember, just think of “Alley Cat” and

reverse it)!

 

“We” who had “gathered” on that day, came by planes, trains, buses, and automobiles…

Those lucky enough to live close by, had walked through the bitter cold, to that beautiful

Beach, on that bitter cold day.  We came (as invited guests) to witness the union of

Cat and Ally and hear them (and see them) pledge their (undying) love to each other.

Most of us present, knew that these two had gone through quite a number of trials and

Tribulations, before coming to this (happier) point in time.

We, who loved and cared for them, were overjoyed that these two had finally found

Happiness together and were “here”, where we were “gathered” to make it “official”.

The young couple could not have chosen a more perfect day, above our heads a blue

Sky stretched endlessly over the ocean before us.  The sun danced upon the water,

Making it appear that an infinite number of diamonds had been tossed in and sparkled

And glittered each time a wave crashed to the shore, ending in white foam on the

Shoreline.

We were serenaded by the cry of seagulls as they flew above and around us, wondering,

perhaps… what such a large number of humans were doing on THEIR beach in the dead

of winter?

 

My niece, Cat, stood slim and tall in her three quarter length (but much too thin), moss green

Double-breasted coat. Her strawberry blonde hair, cur short and stylish, glimmered in the sun,

And the thick black woolen scarf tied around her neck, did nothing to warm her ears.  The ears

were cold and red and probably pretty close to frostbitten…though I doubt, in her state of

happiness, that she noticed at all.

 

Ally, her partner, wore a coat of a different, and brighter green, that ended just above her knees.

Thin silk stockings could not warm her pink and potentially frostbitten legs. Her bright blue shoes,

with tiny heels, gave little warmth, I’m sure…but again…I doubt she noticed the cold.

In one hand Ally clutched a bouquet of beautiful, bright Shasta daisies, and with the other hand

She held onto her wide brimmed black hat. The hat definitely made a fashion statement, even if

It did little to warm Ally’s ears.

 

Meiver, (a good friend the couple had asked to “officiate”), stood wrapped in a her huge down jacket,

With her hood up and her long black hair trying desperately to escape the cold whiplashes of wind.

She spoke beautifully and read words she had written, that brought tears to the eyes and a lump

To the throat…words that described and defined what “love” between two people should be.

Cat and Ally spoke the vows they had written to each other, and the wind suspended them up

In the air, where they stayed private and special between the two lovers.

An attempt was then made, to light a glass sheltered candle, to symbolize their eternal love and

It took quite a few attempts, before the famed “Hawk” of Chicago allowed that flickering flame

To burn steady…but it did…even if only for a very short while…and that was good.

 

“We”, who were gathered, stood with our (not warm enough) woolen and puffy down coats,

With our hats and our hoods pulled down to protect as much of our faces as possible. We held

Scarves and gloved/mittened hands to our mouths, so that it would not hurt so much to breathe

In the frigid air. That “Hawk” of Chicago showed us no mercy, but those who live in that windy city

Know its’ strength and power all too well. I myself, was wearing layers of under armor, tights and

Fleece-lined gloves, and still that wind blew through me like I was standing on the beach

Wearing my birthday suit!

I could tell the others around me were faring the same. I sympathized with those who had been

“chosen” to read bible passages or to deliver some sort of reading…for they stood clutching

Bits of paper in hands clenched and frozen in position…hands that would take some time

To return to normal once they were again gloved and warmed.

 

A kind of “aprosexia” took hold of me, as I tried really hard to focus on the proceeding.

I felt my body succumbing to the cold, just as surely as my mind began drifting into a state

Of “daydream believer”.

An old gypsy proverb came to me then:

 

“We are all wonders on this earth, our hearts are full of wonder and our souls are deep with dreams”.

 

Sometimes, I thought, we find someone special to share all that “wonder” with. Sometimes our

Souls so “deep with dreams” open up to another person and we share our similar dreams. Together…

hand in hand we walk into our futures, following those dreams of ours,

separate and yet combined…hoping that

we can experience the joy of having our dreams come true.

Sometimes we find such a soul mate, and we know we are blessed and pray that our love will last.

We all need someone, and if not a “special someone”, then just each other to warm us and

to put “wood” on our fire…

For “without wood, the fire would die”.

 

We were lined up, after the “ceremony” and photographed…many times over, in many different

Groups and couplings…our smiles did not need to be coaxed, for they were frozen on our faces by

“The Hawk”.  When every possible angle and setting had been explored and forever captured by

The talented photographer (another friend of Cat and Ally), we were “released” and allowed to

Leave the beach and head for some food, spirits and …heat!!!

 

As we (all) trudged back from the beach, frozen and windblown, we headed to one of Chicago’s famous

“stuffed pizza” eateries. We arrived about 15 minutes later, a surprisingly joyful group, pink cheeked and

teary eyed from the wind, chattering and singing away. The restaurant was warm and cozy and filled with

delicious and mouthwatering aromas…not to mention they had an excellent selection of wines as well!

After we (gratefully) peeled layer upon layer of winter clothing off, we sat down to a delicious

dinner and the wine flowed freely as we laughed and sang songs …”bad people don’t sing songs”—

another gypsy proverb says-- was that true, I wondered?  But then again, the gypsies didn’t know

everything, now did they?  Their advice to “stay where there are songs” we took to heart and

partied and sang till the streetlights had long come on…we stayed where there was music, and laughter

and love.

 

Love?  It was all around us that day, and we ALL felt the magic…for it was very real!

It continued the following day, as we were all invited to partake in a Thanksgiving feast.

The first “feast” prepared by the new couple, in their apartment…turkey with all the trimmings

and houseguests crammed in every nook and cranny of the newly joined couple’s apartment.

But no one minded…no one at all. The meal was a delicious success, right down to the dessert pies!!!

 

“A tear in the eye is a wound in the heart”?—There go those damn gypsies again…

There are such things as ‘fake truths and honest lies’…and I suppose there are also exceptions to

to every rule that exists. BUT…there is NO wound in the heart… when that “tear” is one of joy!

Then that tear multiplies and fills the heart to overflowing with love.

 

Miracles? They DO happen every single day! Some people don’t believe that, but if you keep your

Eyes open and focused to see them and your heart tuned in to believe…then you TOO will be blessed

With an abundance of (small and large, special and everyday) wonderful miracles!

 

“We” were “gathered” together, on that freezing cold day in November, and we (all of us) witnessed a miracle…

A bond between two people, who, against all odds had found each other, who loved each other and who

Were determined to make their union last.

“We” who were “there” were forever changed by the beauty and honesty shared by

these two soul-mates, beneath a canopy of blue, highlighted

by a dazzling sun, accompanied by an orchestra of crashing waves, a choir of happy seagulls and

joined by friends and family who echoed every beat of Cat & Ally’s love, inside their own hearts.

 

Miracles? They just don’t get any better than that.