SHELBURNE – The Sunday before school started, the Greensboro United Church of Christ service was longer than usual as pre-K through grad school students were invited to come forward with their backpacks. Ed, our pastor, placed his hand over his heart and then put his hand with love and blessings into each backpack. The backpacks were passed around the congregation and choir, as everyone did the same. When the ritual was complete, Ed checked in with the students. Their backpacks were full of love and blessings even though they didn’t weigh more.
What are the blessings in your backpack?
I added a few to my metaphoric backpack this month. Bonnie, one of my husband’s caregivers, brought him to visit me for lunch. Bill burst into tears when they arrived and managed a big hug and a kiss. He apologized profusely. He thinks he is not supposed to cry. I told him they were welcome tears of joy. Now every time we talk on the phone, he cries. “The more we are apart, the more I love you,” he assures me.
Pastor Ed and his wife Patti returned from a three-month sabbatical on August 10. My friends Jeff and Chris ferried me from Shelburne to Greensboro and back for the celebration and to surprise Ed. Gloria, Bill’s caregiver that day, brought him to church to join us. Everyone hugged, and Bill cried. Gloria’s daughters grew up at Wonder & Wisdom, the heart-centered after-school and summer enrichment program I founded in Greensboro twenty-seven years ago. Grace sat with us. Kindness and joy are friends of Grace.
I was recently surprised to find a package in my mailbox. It felt like a book. Julia Skonicki sent me her new and first book, “Awakened: a journey in poetry and photos.” It was my turn to cry. Julia is the director of development and communications for the Lamoille Family Center in Morrisville. She attended one of WholeHeart’s Intergenerational Leadership Exchanges several years ago. She spends her days helping children and families. Her book is a collection of her poetry and photos written and taken while she was recovering from breast cancer. She includes a blessing on the back cover: “May the poems and photos bring peace and healing to all who are enduring rough seasons.”
I savored Julia’s words of wisdom and the ways she captures nature’s beauty. I took the book to Wake Robin’s Wellness Center. They will order copies for residents in the Health Center.
My copy of “Awakened” is inscribed: “For Trish, Thank you for being a source of love, light, and connection in this world! With Gratitude, Julia.”
Replace my name with yours and put the blessing and her love in your backpack. We are all students in the school of life.
Trish Passmore Alley holds an MBA in Organizational Development and Behavior. A published author and poet, her career has included teaching at the collegiate level, owning several small businesses in manufacturing, engineering and retail, and founding and operating three social profits in Greensboro. A published author and poet, she posts brief, monthly blogs at gracefulmischief.com/. When her column refers to Grace, it is a presence in her life, and it is capitalized. She now lives in Shelburne.
Trish Passmore Alley holds an MBA in Organizational Development and Behavior. A published author and poet, her career has included teaching at the collegiate level, owning several small businesses in manufacturing, engineering, and retail, and founding and operating three social profits in Greensboro, A published author and poet, she posts brief, monthly blogs at gracefulmischief.com/.When her column refers to Grace, it is a presence in her life, and it is capitalized. She now lives in Shelburne.
