Gifts – Julian Wise

Thanks, Dad, for an incredible day. More connected with you than I’ve felt in memory. Your stories that weaved from place to place—about which I sometimes ask, “what was the point?”—today, the sharing was the point. Maybe that’s always true.

Am I focusing on the present because I’m having intensive surgery on Monday?

Could be…

Possibly…

Probably.

Right now, I’m afraid. Not of death, but life:

What if improving my breathing isn’t miraculous?
What if I fail?
What if I die?

Death I can deal with. It’s failure that’s unacceptable.

I’m donating my tomorrow to high school kids. Teaching, mentoring, engrossed in giving.

When I could die at any moment, why do I hop stepping stones?

“But Kid, the best stepping-stones are rock and their own right.”

I didn’t think about any of that today. Just talked with you, Dad. And I loved it.

For three months, You’ve driven around with a twin-sized mattress, originally acquired as a gift from a friend. You thought you might use it in your #VanLife #Van. After a week’s trial, however, you elect to use your previous queen-sized foam squishies instead. What to do with this large nuisance?

Option 1: Give it away.

You posted on facebook–one nibble but no bites.

Option 2: Donate it.

Goodwill doesn’t take mattresses. They’ll accept it for disposal, however… if you pay them $20.

Option 3: Discard it.

You can’t just put it in a dumpster. Grrrrrr.

Option 4: Ask that homeless man steering his bicycle up the hill, “Hey – would you like a twin-sized mattress?”

“Yeah!” he’ll say, and a huge weight will lift as you drive up to the gate of the forest where he lives.
His name is Pete. He has rough hands and a nice smile. You feel giddy that you made him smile.
You park your van on the street near his place.
As the rain begins to plink, you feel a kinship with the misfit.

Tag: Gifts

Thanks, Dad, for an incredible day.

A Mattress.