A new beginning and a time to look back. Many will take this time to reflect on the past year, take inventories of personal accomplishments, unrealized goals and dreams, perform a mental shuffling and prioritize their goals for the upcoming year. The more introspective ones will take this even further by examining their entire lives up to the present, and make long term life plans. This can be a bittersweet endeavor. For very few of us can say that our lives have unfolded as planned, that all our dreams have come true, and am ready to be launched with unbridled optimism into our futures.
The concept of a new beginning is often associated with the young. After all, they are the ones with many years ahead of them to shape their individual and collective futures. Circumstances this past weekend made me realize that new beginnings can also apply to people in the twilight of their lives. My 84 year old father in law, Ken, fell last week and fractured his left hip. This is his second fall in as many weeks, and it is clear that it is no longer safe for him to go back to the house he has lived in for more than half his life.
Despite the chaos of the "hurry up and wait" culture of the hospital setting, Jane and her younger brother Dave were able to secure a one bedroom apartment in a retirement complex in their parents' home town. After a stint in a rehab facility, the plan is for Ken and his wife, Evie, to downsize and move into the apartment.
This morning, I dismantled Ken and Evie's bed to prepare it for the move. It is the first time I entered their bedroom in the 13 years since Jane and I have been married. A pair of over sized speakers installed over the closet give testimony to Ken's love of music. On the opposite wall are event tickets strung together into a necklace of memories. Framed cross stitched pictures decorate the wall nearest to the door. The biggest of the three reminded in faded colored thread, "Life is fragile, handle with Prayer". In a sense, life is a series of fragile new beginnings we must face, no matter which stage of life we are in.
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