Catching Firelfies

Catching Fireflies in his BKLYN Yard T-shirt with His Grandma

Last week I experienced one of my most beautiful days.  There was nothing significant or insignificant that had happened. It wasn't an earth shaking/ground breaking kind of a day.  It was calm. It was uneventful. It was simply lovely.

The day before, my youngest brother had left to start his medical school rotations across the country.  It was his new begining after a year long hiatus from school and the hustles and bustles of life due to  a serious illness that had taken over his existence. In June of 2012 he had developed a blood clot in a major vein that migrated into his lower intestines. It was life threatening.  He was living in Mexico at the time attending medical school.  I wrote this post last year to chronicle our experience.

His illness was another example of "what difference a year makes".  "We came full circle" my mom commented several times before seeing her youngest off .  The year before, while in Mexico, she and I were busy shuttling back and forth from the hospital to the hotel daily with Bebe Bird in tow for almost a month.  When we departed Mexico we took with us some uncertainty regarding my brothers health & recovery. That uncertainty lingered with us until he made a trip back to the States to seek medical treatment.  In December he had a final surgery that placed him on the road to recovery leaving us all grateful. Now, a year later we are priveleged to see him off with confidence.  He seems wiser, is healthier & even more focused to be on the journey he is on.  It was a peaceful departure.

And that peace joined us the following day in my mother's backyard in the countryside of NJ.   We sat on the patio with  the leaves of the tall tree tops shading us as Bebe Bird ran around naked in the sprinklers.  My stepdad was busy blowing bubbles.  My mother and I sipping iced tea.  We were breathing easier then we had the year before.  We spent the evening collecting apples from the apple tree and watching fireflies light up the evenings summer sky.  And maybe, just maybe, fireflies are gentle reminders that there will be little flickers of light to help sustain you in even the darkest of times.

Apple Picking in Grandma's Yard

Granny's Apples