“What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours….”. Dinah Washington first made the song popular in 1959. Somehow I still remember it and can at least sing the main verse. The song was going thru my mind recently as I thought about how much can change in “24 little hours”…. or even a few 24 hours linked together.
Recently in the course of a couple of days, a lot of big things happened. My grandson Emmett and his beautiful Riley were married. It’s amazing because, “I think Emmett was in 4th grade last year”. It was a wonderful wedding; I’m still thinking about the homily. And the reception was magnificent. Many of our grandchildren were part of the service team; believe it or not, some of the grade school boys were part of the parking team… directing traffic. (it reminded me of “Father of the Bride”… but I don’t think they were actually driving the cars…. I’m pretty sure.) And now Emmett & Riley are off to Rome for their honeymoon and to receive a blessing from the Holy Father; she’ll be wearing her wedding dress. Wow.
And then a couple of days later saintly Peggy fell asleep in the Lord… beloved wife of 60 years to John, mother & grandmother, and the mother of our son-in-law Peter. She was a holy woman of God, a fierce and loving wife and mother and friend, and servant of the Lord. Her funereal mass was today and the first reading was appropriately from Proverbs 31…. “ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Prov. 31:25-30) Today was a combination of joy and sorrow.
Sandwiched between these two major happenings, I turned 80. No that’s not a typo, I’m 80. And no, 80 is not the new 60 ….. 80 is the new 80. My lovely wife and our kids and grandkids put on a very nice brunch to celebrate. We had mass and food and they shared some very kind words. I was touched by the entire day. I experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit affirming that some of my efforts to love and serve Him have been successful. Often I can tend to be a “half empty glass guy” when it comes to my life ….. more of a prosecuting attorney than defense attorney. Yet during the sharing time, I experienced the Lord’s affirmation… which means everything to me. I was very blessed.
So Dave what’s the point of this BLOG…. we’re covering a lot of ground ….we’re bouncing from wonderful celebrations to deep sorrow…. back and forth. That’s true and I didn’t even mention a dear couple’s 40thwedding anniversary celebration this weekend, while another good friend just fell and broke her hip. Our life is filled with rejoicing and mourning, with laughter and tears, with weddings and funerals. So, it’s important to live in the present moment. We should celebrate when there’s reason to celebrate, and mourn when it’s time to mourn. We need to take every opportunity to share today the love of God with those we meet whether at a wedding or a funeral. As Ben Franklin once said, “don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today”. What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours.
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