Moments…
This is a short blog today. There are a few reasons for it - I was sick earlier in the week and while recovered, my energy level is not at 100%, the final round of the Masters is on and I have it playing in the background and I have tons of work to get done today.
In the last couple of weeks there have been some amazing moments taking place in my world and the world in general and I’m going to quickly point out a few of my “honourable mentions”.
First, Integrity, the spacecraft of the Artemis 2 mission launched on 01 April with four astronauts, including a Canadian onboard. It was an incredible moment after years of preparation. The four astronauts onboard may have been the “face” of the mission but numerous people made it happen. It’s important to recognize when we look at the astronauts that they are there because they earned their positions and because so many people worked so hard to make it possible. Every person who was in mission control, who built the craft, the doctors who ensured the astronauts were physically and mentally prepared, the people who designed and developed the spacesuits, the people who provided the necessities while the astronauts were in quarantine and so on. The family and friends of the astronauts who supported them and kept homes functioning while they were away from those homes were critical to success. There were so many amazing, noteworthy moments from their trip to deep space and two of them stood out for me. Each astronaut spoke of feeling humbled by the experience and I think that says so much about the character of the men and woman who were part of Artemis 2. The second moment is the faith and belief in God that was shared with all of us on Earth. Absolutely incredible.
The second moment I want to mention is a “long” moment and it’s Easter. If you’re Christian and specifically, Catholic as I am, you know that Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus. I mentioned being Catholic because for Catholics we spend a lot of time in church during the week of Easter. Holy Thursday is the start of the Easter Triduum and includes an evening mass. It continues on Friday afternoon with the Good Friday Liturgy and culminates with the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. Generally, we make a choice between attending the Vigil or Easter Sunday morning mass. This year I had my mom and niece visiting and we attended Sunday mass. The Vigil is a long, intense and beautiful mass which can last for hours. I didn’t think a twelve year old would love sitting for that long, especially since she was the first to get hit with the stomach virus of the weekend. Each person celebrates Easter in their own way. Even being in attendance with more than one hundred others at my parish, it is a personal moment for me. For me, Easter is centred on the religious celebration with a healthy dose of chocolate thrown in as a treat.
As I mentioned a couple of times, Easter weekend introduced a stomach virus into my house and my guests. Without doubt it was the sickest I have ever been. It certainly cancelled out Easter dinner. Why am I mentioning it as a moment? I could have been alone. It could have hit while I was spending the weekend by myself but it didn’t. My twelve year old niece was hit first and recovered the quickest. Instead of complaining she took care of herself and made sure, as it hit me and then my mother, that we were okay. She checked in on us, got herself food, went for walks to get fresh air while staying in contact, enjoyed some shows and cleaned up after herself. She attended all the Easter celebrations with us and even went shopping as she improved and before we got sick. She is more than worthy of a mention in my moments of the last couple of weeks.
Being sick deserves to be mentioned as a moment as well. On the occasion when I do get sick, it reminds me that I am not invincible. I think it’s an important reminder that I have to take proper care of this gift of life. Eat properly, exercise, hydrate, etc. Good health is essential for a great life. It doesn’t mean I won’t get sick but I think it puts the right emphasis on self-care.
I said above that I have The Masters on as background “noise” this afternoon. I love so many things about The Masters that I would say it qualifies as a moment, albeit a five day moment. I absolutely love the Wednesday par Three contest. The golfers bring their families and the children get an opportunity to play alongside their professional fathers. There is so much joy and innocence when they’re out together. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I know that those golfers and their families do not live in my world. They live in the world of private jets and spend their days practising what amounts to a game for a living. I have no issue with that, if I’m being honest. They’ve taken talent that was given and developed it through time, energy and effort. If they can make something out of it, I have nothing to say in the negative. I’m thrilled to see people work hard and make something out of their talents. There’s luck involved, I’m sure but I love this week. I love the atmosphere of Augusta National - no cell phones allowed, the food has prices that you won’t see anywhere else, proper behaviour is expected and enforced. It’s a moment.
The final moment in this short blog that I want to mention is the Integrity splashdown on Friday evening. What a moment! It was brilliant. My niece called me and I watched over the phone with her and my mom as the capsule hit the water. Wow! The four astronauts were in great shape and exuberant about both their lunar experience and their return to Earth and their families. Awe-inspiring. I loved how joyful each looked as they were airlifted to the recovery ship. Time, knowledge, growth, excitement, curiosity, humility, effort, challenge, intensity, joy. Those words help me to quantify my understanding of the Artemis 2 mission.
Not one of the moments that I’ve mentioned in this blog were only experienced by me. I was not alone in any of them, not even in being sick. We each have moments that we can celebrate. Some of them are huge, some of them are small and intimate. In this world of turmoil and anger let’s not forget to let those moments shine.
This is what my living room looked like when I first moved into the house.
Except for a couple of labour-intensive but small jobs, my living room has been fully transformed. I’m in love. When you make such striking changes other changes may become necessary - in my case, I’m on the hunt for a new coffee table.