A Shot in the Darkness…

I haven’t had or maybe haven’t taken the time to sum up the Race for the Cure. It was a great day. The weather was just right, and the one-mile-fun walk was perfect. We all met downtown. Somehow, we missed Kim. I think that’s because she was going to do the 5K run and had to start earlier than the rest of us. Getting through the crowd to the Golden Nugget Starbucks took longer than expected, so we were running late to the meeting place. Oh, we missed Kelly, too but later found out she didn’t make it. And we missed the Gordons and the Rizzutos. We raised over 1,800 dollars and so appreciate all of our team members and donors. There were some ironic moments as people, who didn’t know each other before the race, came together for this wonderful cause. For example, I heard Krista giving directions on the phone to Marissa, a teacher at Harmon; and they had not yet met. Then there were the Paskes and the O’Keefes with “Nana Dottie” signs on (That’s what Olivia has always called me). Nikki, a teacher at Goolsby was nearby and asked if it was the same Dottie she knew. There were great connections and moments to celebrate that day. “A shot in the darkness” is another one of those wonderful phrases that could only come from a six-year old. I do get some of my best material from kindergartners. Lately, J.J.’s family thinks he’s turned into quite a little philosopher, summing up the habits of his uncle, the state of happiness of his grandmother and that of his grandfather, and other wonderful life meanings. Personally, I believe he’s just restating, in his own way, what he hears adults talking about. The shot in the darkness was, however, not a comment related to the meaning of life. For a moment, though, just indulge me…Let’s see…Life is good; Life is like a box of chocolates; Life’s a bitch and then you die; Life’s a game; Life is like a bowl of cherries; Life is the sum of all your choices. I’m going with: Life is a shot in the darkness. In what context did J.J. use this wonderful new slogan I’m adopting? Actually, we had been playing around with a basketball on his outdoor court, so to speak, earlier in the evening. After dinner, when it was getting pretty dark out, he said, “Let’s go out and take a shot in the darkness.” Gotcha!……From that happy note to a sad one…yesterday was the service for Bobbie’s husband, John. He died of brain cancer at the age of 45. I guess we could add to the sayings above that “Life isn’t fair,” but we don’t really know that, do we? I said here a few months back that I couldn’t begin to imagine what Bobbie was going through; and I still can’t. I’m sure they knew for months that John’s situation was terminal; yet, somehow they coped with that while still having hopes for a miracle. The overflow crowd at Palm Mortuary spoke of the vast amount of love that people have for John and for Bobbie. She addressed the crowd and kept it light and even drew laughs which further demonstrated the kind of love and relationship that she shared with her husband. I know from the past year of my life that somehow, no matter what, you dredge up the strength to get through. And I’ve surely come to believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us; and like it or not, the plan is in place and will be carried out. Today, I was watching one of my favorite movies, Random Hearts, and the female character, during her husband’s eulogy said, “We had so many great days, just not enough years.” I surely thought of Bobbie when I heard those words, because for some reason the 22 years was all she was going to get. I know she will treasure them and find great strength from them. Steve provides me with thought-provoking words of wisdom, and one he said recently seems to fit here: people come into our lives in many ways…for a reason, for a season, for life. Although Bobbie believed with all of her heart that John was for life, it turned out that he was for a season; and she must go on without him for the other seasons of her life. Speaking of J.J. being a philosopher, it must be catching…I’m in way too deep today; I think I’ll go take a shot in the darkness. Ciao!