The Circle of Life

Another Sunday and another golf day without the original foursome in attendance. Bernie and Judi were in the Napa Valley and Dan was up at the lake house. It was Barry and me, joined again by the father and son duo of Ken and Max. Ken and Max are probably closer on the golf course than most father and son duo’s, but that is because they do not have two full sets of clubs between them. Earlier in the year, Ken’s garage was broken into and his golf bag was stolen. Unfortunately for Ken, he had recently borrowed some clubs from Barry and they too were stolen. So Ken now borrows clubs from his son and Barry has a new set of clubs, but neither of these facts helped any of us today on the golf course. It was a beautiful day for golf, with the sun shining and nice breeze to keep it cool, but despite the perfect conditions none of us seemed to be able to hit the ball with any degree of consistency. We experienced lost balls, mulligans a scolding from the ranger and an easily forgettable 4 hour and 45 minute round of golf.
This week’s blog is really about the “and more,” because an easily forgettable golf round could not compare to the moments that were experienced this weekend. In the “circle of life,” there are friends and family and this weekend was about both. Gail Sheehy wrote the book “Passages” and there certainly were many examples of people going through these important milestones this weekend, starting with the most remarkable one of all, Ruth Bradburd celebrating her 90th birthday. On Saturday, a collection of friends and relatives, who flew and drove from many miles away, all came to our house to wish Ruth good wishes on reaching this rare “Passage.” Jill and her sister threw an incredible bash with plenty of food and drink and fun for everyone. The part that made it so special was the re-connections made during this gathering. Cousins that had not seen each other for years reminisced. Our lifelong friends came to pay tribute to Ruth, but also to spend time with, my parents, our children and our niece and nephew and their families. All of these people have experienced each other at various “Passages” in their lives and now they could see the same people at a different point in their life. Other important passages including our daughter, Amanda returning home for the first time after moving to an apartment in Quincy, Massachusetts and starting her first full-time job after graduating college. Even Bernie and Judi’s trip to the west coast was to witness a girl who was in the same grade as Craig and Cara embarking on the passage of marriage. But probably the most amazing and gratifying passage of all is the rekindling of love and hope by our friend Dave after all of the tragedy that he has experienced. He truly is a new person now. His joy, Ruth’s excitement, the cousins catching up and the many generations all coming together for a good time made this a day to remember.