Robert and I enjoyed Hibernian’s Sunday Brunch once again today. This is my third weekend in a row eating it, and after being sufficiently stuffed, I’ve sworn off this indulgence, at least for the rest of this month. 
Robert was gracious enough to accompany me on a short visit to Jeanie’s grave site out at Montlawn. |
I deviated from my typical all-cardio day, by doing 30 minutes of it on the treadmill and the other 30 on the elliptical machine, instead of all on the elliptical.
|
Cardio (Treadmill) |
30 |
280 |
|
Cardio (Elliptical Machine) |
30 |
609 |
|
Total |
60 |
889 |
I did two loads of laundry, and just before heading out to karaoke, I called my aunt to see how I might be helpful with regards to the message related to me via my cousin on Friday.
She caught me up on Uncle Frank’s current health situation, and then I offered to come up two days before my Provincetown vacation to spend time going through their situation, needs, and questions. She seemed relieved to have something on the calendar.
So, there’s been an interesting juxtaposition and confluence of events infusing my life lately. I’m going to use one of my favorite rhetorical devices, the table, to capture the timeline:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 26, 2007 | Jeanie-baby asked me to devise and deliver her eulogy “when the time comes.” |
| January 4, 2008 | I called Jeanie to schedule a visit for January 25, during which I planned to ask her 10 “heavy” questions about her life—the answers to which, unbeknownst to her, I plan to use in her eulogy “when the time comes.” |
| January 25, 2008 | Since I shared some of my answers to some of them, during my discussion with Jeanie of the “heavy” questions, I articulated to her regarding the question, “What person in your life, who probably doesn’t know it, made a significant contribution to you being where you are in your life? What did they contribute?” that it’s really never occurred to me that, for me, this is probably my Uncle Frank.
In watching him build his house by hand during the time we lived upstairs from him and my aunt, while my dad was serving in Vietnam for a year, I’m sure that as a 12- and 13-year-old kid I learned good lessons about perseverance, about “having a plan,” about finishing something you start even if it’s going to take five or more years (and when you’re the age I was, that’s half your life!), and determination. I said to Jeanie-baby then, “I should tell him this.” |
| February 14, 2008 | My cousin Lisa let me know that her father, my Uncle Frank, had heart surgery a couple of weeks ago, which had turned into a dire situation with an infection that won’t heal. |
| May 22, 2008 | “The time comes” for Jeanie-baby. |
| May 22-26, 2008 | I went through the 2-3 hours worth of tape from my January 25th time with Jeanie, and culled out things to include in her eulogy, and in doing so, am reminded of that affirmation of my uncle that I should deliver, before his time comes. |
| June 6, 2008 | Out of the blue, an affirmation from Uncle Frank to me arrives. |
Another thing that’s coincidental about all this is that it was two years ago, almost to the month, that I was going to Provincetown in June for a short vacation, and it occurred to me one day: “You know there aren’t many of my extended family relatives that I’d probably make the trip up (to New England) to attend their funerals, but for Frank or Annette’s I would.”
And then, I thought, “Why don’t you go visit them while they can still talk back!” And I did. It turned out to be one of the most heart-warming weekends in my life.
So, here it is two years later: I’ve had my short Provincetown vacation accommodations for a couple of months now, for July 16-20, but I’ve been waiting to make the flight reservations in hopes of the prices going down.
So, now I can tack on the two days beforehand, just like I did two years ago, to take care of some more “heart work.”
Funny, life.