Carousel

CAROUSEL...A carousel (from French carrousel, from Italian carosello), or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders.

Music.

A soft autumn breeze.

The smell of cotton candy and popcorn.

The noises of a small church fair.

A carousel, whirling around and a grandfather with a child.

The circle of life.

My best memories as a new mother, usually involve my father-in-law and my daughter and they are always simple but yet, magical, like a fall fair at our church, St. Timothy, or the beach, or the lake or a park or just everyday life events that made up our history together. Although I never thought of myself as a mother and I wasn't' in a hurry to have children, I had my very first experience with selflessness when Raci and I decided to offer my father-in-law the opportunity to enjoy a new life when his was coming to an end. By offering to him the chance to realize a dream, life gave us something back in return, the chance to grow and to become better human beings. He embraced the arrival of our daughter as a new beginning to his own life and he got to enjoy the adventure unfolding in front of him with the eyes of a child himself.

It would be hard to find someone more "awed" by a child as he was; playing, enjoying, valuing each moment as the first and last, he mystified each day into a miracle, with the certainty we all should have, that one day it will be no more. He was there for her, all the time, every moment of every second, for seven years, until God called him back home. When he left, we mourned him. We missed him. We longed for his loving presence, and although he was gone, he did leave us with the memories of special afternoons like the St. Timothy fairs of years past..moments full of his presence, of his familiar ways and moments when it seemed that we will never part and we will never have to say goodbye. These are the moments that make life worth living; the moments that happen when you are not paying attention; those lazy-days-kind-of-moments when the world seems to stop and you can truly enjoy the magic of a carousel, inviting you to dream, to let go, to enjoy the ride.