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Today’s Blog Post
Catching Up with what I have missed
I was in the “Strawberry Fields Forever’… and like the Beatle’s song… it almost is a dream.
Yesterday I was with the love of my life doing what she loves the most – picking strawberries. Amazing – simply amazing.
This is not something that I haven’t done for so long I cannot remember. Actually I am ashamed to tell you – that I do remember.
For 42 years I have been too busy. I have been always working, running, doing. I was a ‘human doing’ for way too long. Instead God’s plan was for me to simply be a ‘human being’. But professionally – I had to maintain the ‘Doing’ part!!! If not I would not have been paid… at least that was what I had convinced myself.
As I was on my hands and knees the smell of the ripe, red strawberries flooded my every sense. I reached under one plant to retrieve the hand full of berries and they were so ripe that my fingers plunged into the juicy, plump fruit. So I had to eat them.
A number of times I reached under the strawberry bush to pick what I thought was three or more berries at a time… instead it was ONE BERRY that filled my entire palm. The first one was the biggest berry I had ever seen… so I ate it. I did that for about four more of these giants until I didn’t want anymore.
Sorry I didn’t get any photos of these ones – as my hands were too juicy and red to handle my camera!
The smell again… reminded me of a time many years ago. In fact it was 42 years ago in New Brunswick… 42 years ago this very week that the memory came back again.
Alida and I had been married in September 1967. The memory was made in June 1968. She was very pregnant with a very plump baby who would arrive in about a month’s time. That baby would be Dana.
Alida and Dana made up a fairly large size picker. In fact I can also say that the two were somewhat uncomfortable bending that low and being that “big”. So Alida found it far more comfortable to go on her hands and knees on the straw bedding looking for the strawberries.
With that posture her hands were getting red… so were her knees as she crawled along… but so was her maternity shirt as it dragged along over the berry bits in the straw.
42 years later, yesterday, that memory flooded back as if it had just happened. What a rush! I was young again. I was with my beautiful wife… we were giggling and having a ball… just like the old days of so long ago.
The regret kind of nudged me as I walked back to the van with the six huge baskets we had picked. I felt that I had missed something for along time. It was then that I wished I had not been so busy for so long.
Over the last 12 years I have been way too busy. I have tried to solve the problems of so many by listening to them, encouraging them, being with them… while Alida has gone about picking the Strawberries and doing what she could by herself. She has come home from these outings of berry picking and said to me many times over… “I wish you could have come with me…” then shrugged her shoulders and went on with life.
I was foolish and way too busy. All the people that I tried to “help” are only distant memories now. I cannot even remember most of their names. Only a few are good friends now. Most are gone.
As we placed the six quart baskets in the van… Alida took my hand and squeezed it… she giggled… and said “This was so much fun having you with me!” I gulped and wished that I had been here for the last 42 years – instead of “doing” whatever.
Not long ago I stood with a man that had just said ‘good bye’ to his lover. They had been married for over 50 years. His regrets were so many that it overwhelmed me. He sobbed. “I wish we could have done more together. She wanted me to… but I was always too busy… just too dam busy!”
Last evening I thought about that a lot. I promised myself… that it will never be that way again.
We have a few good years left… and I intend to spend it with the one that I love... the way it should be spent… living… loving… and laughing. If I seem too busy to talk to you… well I am. If you can’t get me on the telephone… leave a message. I am busy now… way too busy catching up with what I have missed.
~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/
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