THE MOMENT WE KNEW

An open-minded group of listeners and presenters gathered at the library in Campbell River, BC, Canada to celebrate three readings from the book “The Moment I Knew”. The moment the door closed to the hustle and bustle sounds of book seekers was the moment we knew that we had settled in a safe environment and could share moments in our lives that had caused us to pause and contemplate life.

Anne Nikolic read How Detachment Changes Everything by Susan Black and asked, “Does this story resonate with you in any way and, if so, how or why?” The conversation took off and was shared by the attendees. The topic discussion lasted a full fifteen minutes and then the timekeeper shook the little bell to announce the end of that session and the beginning of the next. Susan Black read Birthday Wish by Noelle Sterne and asked the group what moment in their lives stood out for them. Each person shared their moment while the rest of us sat listening, humbled by their candid contribution. Judy Hollywood read Complete Unknowns and Rolling Stones by Elizabeth Willse. We contributed our feelings of searching for our place in this world. The discussion was lively and revealing.

The energy exchanged at this most passionate gathering is something that I look forward to again. The Moment I Knew Reflections from Women on Life’s Defining Moments has more stories in it – one is bound to resonate with any reader.

Thank you to Sugati Publications for the Reflections from Women series.

The Moment We Knew

Friends gather for book promotion

My Heart Caught Up With Me

I LIKE THAT Frank finally got himself a family doctor. Last month he woke up with a half-moon shape blocking his vision in one eye. He could see over the obstruction but it was very annoying. We went to the emergency department at the Campbell River hospital.

“I wonder if it has anything to do with the detached retina thing a few years ago?” Frank said.

“Hmmm, I wonder,” I said.

According to the emergency doctor it had nothing to do with a detached retina and everything to do with high blood pressure. He made arrangements for Frank to see an ophthalmologist right away. The specialist told Frank that he had suffered a burst blood vessel in his eye and was lucky that it was a small one because a rupture of a larger vessel would have caused him to be brain dead or blind. Frank remained stoic at the news. I took his cue and stayed as calm as I could.

Follow up appointments of blood work resulted in Frank being diagnosed with high blood pressure and an enlarged heart.

“Your heart has been leaking blood all these years and has caused your heart to pump harder than it should and so it is enlarged as a result,” the doctor said.

Frank is now taking Quinapril http://www.medicinenet.com/quinapril/article.htm and a baby Aspirin once a day.

“I guess my heart has caught up to my age,” Frank said. “Boy, turning sixty-nine has been a kicker.”

I could sense his sadness and disappointment that he could no longer ignore his leaky heart valve and succumb to taking a prescribed drug. His leaky heart valve had been detected in him when he was a young man, but the doctor at the time told him not to worry about it. He never did. And now, we both take care.

My heart caught up with me.

Pride and Remembrance

IT WAS A COLD AND STORMY MORNING. The citizens of Campbell River braved the elements to witness the annual march of our war veterans, respecting those who have passed and those who are involved in keeping the peace these days.

Frank and I stood in a doorway across from Spirit Square in the downtown core, and joined in the pride and remembrance of the people who gave up so much for our freedom. We chanted O’ Canada together without a lead singer and clapped our mitten-covered hands as the Parade Marshall directed his obedient followers in a sure-footed stomp along the roadway. It was a humbling scene of young and old men and women dedicated to our right to safety, free speech and orderly conduct.

Everyone was invited to gather at the Royal Canadian Legion afterwards to be served a free lunch. God bless the Ladies Auxiliary and their humble dedication to service. The Campbell River Legion Pipe Band made themselves known by circling the tables and blasting their tunes. Ah, the bagpipes.

Until next year…

Celebration of Remembrance Day

Pumped with pride

The Eyes Have It

I LIKE THAT Cynthia L. Pauwels is still so infatuated with her husband’s eyes. At a young age their eyes met and he took control of her heart and maintained his loving embrace throughout their thirty-five year marriage to present day.

The story “Powerful Eyes of Love” in the book The Moment I Knew is a contrast of past ghosts and a hazel-grey-eyed ghost buster.

“The eyes are the windows of the soul”, said by Cicero years ago, brings a romantic sense to my mind. I make a special effort to look into a person’s eyes when I’m speaking to him or her. Some people have smiling eyes that seek to meet your soul. Others have downcast eyes and choose not to reveal themselves. A number of people have a twinkle in their eyes and bring a smile to my face.

When was the last time you looked into someone’s eyes?

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The Eyes Have It

Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board…

"One Punch" Packs a Punch

One Punch, Lisa Ford, pg. 66 

Ms. Lisa Ford, one of the thirty authors of the book The Moment I Knew, let me know that the punch she received really hurt her. Her descriptive writing style put me in the vehicle with her and her son. I could feel the electrified tension between the two of them, then - Pow! She got hit in the arm. It took my breath away.

It was a shocking and deliberate incident. Her son’s action was the moment I knew I would have retaliated right then and there. However, Lisa’s gracious patience suppresses her immediate reaction to the punch. Later, her survival instinct kicked in and she remedied the situation in her own way.

“It only took one punch.”   Sugati Publications Rocks!

Sources: Hans Toby, fotosearch

My First Baha'i Funeral

On October 21, 2011, for the first time in my life I stood in a cemetery beside a coffin before it was set into the ground. It was the first time I attended a Baha’i funeral. It was the first time I heard the Baha’i obligatory prayer for a funeral, Prayer for the Dead. It was not however, the first time I had cried for a deceased acquaintance.

The ceremony for Arlene Beverly Shimeld was conducted with dignity and respect attended by her family and her friends. I imagined her body wrapped in a traditional shroud of silk or cotton, and on her finger perhaps there was a ring bearing the inscription "I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate", but I couldn’t be sure. The wooden coffin was closed, draped with a narrow cloth of sophisticated patterns and garnished with a flower arrangement.

I stared past the casket at the groomed grounds and watched leaves flip and fall to the earth. My thoughts formed the sentence, “October is a good month to die.” The change of season offered up strong winds, rich fall foliage and people wrapping themselves and each other in their arms. I felt tears in my eyes and assigned them to happiness. I was glad to be in the presence of God and to be there to wish Arlene a safe journey the Abha Kingdom. 

The Moment I Knew

THE MOMENT I KNEW that I had made one of the best decisions of my life was when my story, “How Detachment Changes Everything”, appeared in print among twenty-nine published and first-time women authors. I was humbled to have my work included with tales that have expressed personal revelations about reflections on love, relationships, pregnancy and children, family and lessons learned, family influence, faith and culture, loss, self-discovery, and on life and the human condition.

On Thursday, September 22, 2011, two extraordinary things were laid in my hands. A dear friend took mine in hers and told me that she had been diagnosed with a dramatic heart condition and the specialist told her that she had five years to live. Our eyes searched each other’s souls to find a place where we could console our hurt. I said I was sorry to hear about her heartbreaking condition and she told me that she was sorry to have had to tell me about it. Shock set in. I led my friend to a comfortable chair and asked her to tell me all about her condition. She spoke in her normal tone as though she had prepared herself for her story’s release. I nodded slowly at first and then felt my body rocking back and forth as though her message was more than my brain could handle. I smiled at her to reassure her that it would be all right. But it was false hope, because I have no say in her length of stay in our material world.

Our concentration was interrupted by our husbands’ voices as they returned through the apartment door from having toured the building. Frank, my husband, was caring a sealed package and handed it me. I looked over at my quiet friend and said, “This is my book. My essay is in this book.”

I reached over and touched her hand and she understood that I wanted her permission to open it, to end our heart-condition conversation. She nodded and I acted immediately.

I laughed and whimpered a bit at the same time. I was thrilled with excitement at seeing my essay on page sixty-three, but at the same time felt restrained by the depth of sorrow I saw in my sweet friend’s eyes.

The interruption was the excuse our friends needed to set in motion their leaving for home. We hugged each other and said, “I love you.” After I watched their car drive away I sat and read the book, The Moment I Knew – Reflections From Women on Life’s Defining Moments.

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Susan writes for the love of it.