Sunday Morning

~ Live & Learn

As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie he finally felt as if everything was going to be okay. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair…in routine and constancy…. in hopelessness and tragedy… we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And fortunately, when there aren’t any cookies… we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin…or a kind and loving gesture… or a subtle encouragement… or a loving embrace… or an offer of comfort.  Not to mention hospital gurneys… and nose plugs…and uneaten Danish… and soft-spoken secrets… and Fender Stratocasters…and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things… the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties…which we assume only accessorize our days… are, in fact, here for a much larger and nobler cause: They are here to save our lives.  I know the idea seems strange. But I also know that it just so happens to be true. And so it was…

~ Emma Thompson, as Karen Eiffel, from the closing lines in Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

18 thoughts on “Sunday Morning”

  3. The million little things that comprise our lives, many seemingly pedestrian, but all play their part. Yesterday was spent at the funeral of a young friend lost to a tragic accident. My husband spent his evening reading back through hundreds of text messages the two had exchanged. Somehow, re-reading those little bubbles of text brought him comfort. You just never know….

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    1. Lori, yes ‘little things’ like these text msg’es can have a far greater impact and – in this case – give solace and comfort. Losing someone to an accident is particularly harsh, there is no preparation time! Sending you love.

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    2. Wow Lori. Reviewing old text messages. That must have been emotional.

      “Little things like this save the heart on a daily basis.” – Lisa Taddeo, Three Women (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, July 9, 2019) 

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    3. “The simple things come back to us. They rest for a moment by our ribcages then suddenly reach in and twist our hearts a notch backward.”

      Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin (Published June 23rd 2009 by Random House) (via see more)

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  7. Despair: visiting my Swiss brother in law in hospital this morning. Dying. I had previously related this story to all his siblings, his sister and my deceased husband’s identical twin…but never to him. This remembrance…one of few I can remember after my husband died suddenly between breakfast and lunch 30 year’s ago…my brother in law sitting at my kitchen table making a plan to auction our 300 head of dairy cows…the auctioneer was asking a high percentage from the sale. Too high. My brother in law (also a dairyman) slapped the table and said, “What the hell! No, Sir, you won’t!”

    The auctioneer didn’t.

    With much difficulty he smiled remembering that day. With tears in both our eyes and as we held each other’s hand, and I thanked him for taking care of my two children and I when we needed it most. Neither of us dairy any longer, but the cows are coming home…they always do.

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    2. You made me tear up – I returned from Switzerland right now – may I ask where your b-i-l is?
      I liked this beautiful story of integrity, care and a certain pride. Thank You for sharing it and wishing you now much strength, courage and holding on to the good you experienced. Kiki

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