tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post2993177478148243641..comments2023-10-31T06:01:21.781-04:00Comments on love,elizabeth: Day 2 of the new realityElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11889294120616809157noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-83801268426649811472008-03-21T13:10:00.000-04:002008-03-21T13:10:00.000-04:00Terrible and beautiful. Yes. At times like this ...Terrible and beautiful. Yes. At times like this I always think of Auden's poem, "Mussee des beaux arts." If you don't know it, here it is.<BR/>Musée des Beaux Arts<BR/> <BR/> About suffering they were never wrong,<BR/>The Old Masters; how well, they understood<BR/>Its human position; how it takes place<BR/>While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;<BR/>How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting<BR/>For the miraculous birth, there always must be<BR/>Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating<BR/>On a pond at the edge of the wood:<BR/>They never forgot<BR/>That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course<BR/>Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot<BR/>Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse<BR/>Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.<BR/><BR/>In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away<BR/>Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may <BR/>Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,<BR/>But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone<BR/>As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green<BR/>Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen<BR/>Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,<BR/>had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.<BR/><BR/> Thanks, Pat, from grey old Pittburgh.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11889294120616809157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-46483403405813229202008-03-21T11:48:00.000-04:002008-03-21T11:48:00.000-04:00Elizabeth, this post is poetry. In the context of ...Elizabeth, this post is poetry. In the context of what seems to be happening in your house, planting sunflowers is the only possible answer, and I think the absolutely best thing to do. Sometimes the way life goes is so terrible and beautiful at the same time it's just unbelievable...and hard to bear.<BR/>I'm sending you all my best thoughts from gray old Europa. love,pat.pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14675993483165955805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-4532329250234765532008-03-21T00:21:00.000-04:002008-03-21T00:21:00.000-04:00Granny: Actually, I think in hard times, kindness ...Granny: Actually, I think in hard times, kindness is my greatest consolation. It makes those hard places softer. So thanks.<BR/><BR/>CJ & Jason: Aw shucks, Ok. But they do also come the way they come, each of them their own little selves, and I see it as my main job to help them to be the best, happiest version of themselves they can be.<BR/><BR/>Claire: She is a little sunflower, moving her face toward joy. and she's also just a nut; she's growing a little pansy plant (which she calls "Baby"), and every day she measures it with a ruler to see if it's grown. Then she has to tell us all the minute measurementsElizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11889294120616809157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-50207379124248946172008-03-20T23:48:00.000-04:002008-03-20T23:48:00.000-04:00I'm with Jane...yours do seem wonderful.I'm with Jane...yours do seem wonderful.jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11116663308431251286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-68497254802069709772008-03-20T18:00:00.000-04:002008-03-20T18:00:00.000-04:00She is so a sunflower girl. Give everyone a hug fo...She is so a sunflower girl. Give everyone a hug for me.Claire M. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01714407719530073304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-55291134854502428662008-03-20T06:31:00.000-04:002008-03-20T06:31:00.000-04:00Children are indeed a reflection of their parents ...Children are indeed a reflection of their parents -- and yours seem to be spectacular.<BR/><BR/>Here's to being in charge of the sunflowers. Thinking good thoughts for them -- and for all of you.janey jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05176443321771697655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-77689907248310556002008-03-20T02:05:00.000-04:002008-03-20T02:05:00.000-04:00its of no consolation but all of us are praying an...its of no consolation but all of us are praying and wishing for the best for you and family..and i believe that counts for a lot...yellowdoggrannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-80931936557680448812008-03-20T00:08:00.000-04:002008-03-20T00:08:00.000-04:00Cowbell: Their little braveries tear me up more t...Cowbell: Their little braveries tear me up more than anything the husband or I have to face. But you're right - they're also what get me through. The youngest and I planted the seeds today, and had fun doing it. And I never would have done it today on my own.<BR/><BR/>e.g. and Doralong: Yes, the waiting around is misery. I just want to get to the moment the surgeon comes out the O.R. door, and says the knuckle head is OK. Just trying to keep moving, to avoid those dark places.<BR/><BR/>Sage: I knew exactly what you meant. So it made me smile when you came back to explain. Thanks for making me smile!<BR/><BR/>Miss Janey: Thanks. They're good kids, and we try not to give them too many reasons to go into therapy when they're grown ups. And thanks, also, for the good thoughts.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11889294120616809157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-52023066175278755952008-03-19T13:54:00.000-04:002008-03-19T13:54:00.000-04:00It sounds like you adn the Mister have done a wond...It sounds like you adn the Mister have done a wonderful job with your children. Still thinking good thoughts for you all...Miss Janeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11434497632651114929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-31291103176439608162008-03-19T12:53:00.001-04:002008-03-19T12:53:00.001-04:00HA! I meant to say Still Thinking Of YOU!HA! I meant to say Still Thinking Of YOU!sagewebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06818567803401688931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-13500508188928105172008-03-19T12:53:00.000-04:002008-03-19T12:53:00.000-04:00Ditto what everyone else said. Your first paragrap...Ditto what everyone else said. Your first paragraph really touched me. You are so right about the mind and the extremes of Joy and Pain. <BR/><BR/>Still thing of you.sagewebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06818567803401688931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-65350220379969679132008-03-19T12:37:00.000-04:002008-03-19T12:37:00.000-04:00Waiting is always hardest- keeping your mind from ...Waiting is always hardest- keeping your mind from wandering into spaces it ought not to go..<BR/><BR/>But there is a sure and steady comfort in the cycle of the household schedule that can help to soothe.<BR/><BR/>Keeping you and yours in my thoughts, and hoping only for the best!Doralonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08529026755912430796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-60730022549485181322008-03-19T08:50:00.000-04:002008-03-19T08:50:00.000-04:00Elizabeth, anything I can think of to write at thi...Elizabeth, anything I can think of to write at this moment seems contrived or simply inadequate. So I'll simply repeat what Tony said: We're all thinking about you.Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-56148045071566832442008-03-19T07:45:00.000-04:002008-03-19T07:45:00.000-04:00It sounds pretty awful. Waiting around is the wors...It sounds pretty awful. Waiting around is the worst of it in situations like this. We're all thinking about you.evilganomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04867509470546509687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8133147170181934597.post-75565287798287756892008-03-19T03:32:00.000-04:002008-03-19T03:32:00.000-04:00oh god, Elizabeth, this made me cry at each of the...oh god, Elizabeth, this made me cry at each of the kids' descriptions. Well. You know that being mom as well as partner is what makes this extra hard, but ... being mom, you know too that they are also what will get you through it. <BR/><BR/>"I can't believe I'm going to be in charge of the sunflowers!" Sunflowers are so brave and strong, and so will you be. (You will!) Hugs hugs hugs.more cowbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17867825812404503048noreply@blogger.com