Glass

On By Shayleene MacReynoldsIn creativewriting

After they die, I crack a cold, cheap beer and comb through my belongings.  I look for letters, texts, facebook comments and photographs.  Listen to messages to see if maybe, somewhere along line, they’ve left me the gift of their voice.

After they die, I scramble desperately for something left of them.  Something tangible.  Something physical that I can hold inside my hands.

When I read their words, I attribute new meanings to the things they said.

One uncle, he wrote me, “When am I going to see you again?  Hurry up, don’t have that much time.”  Now that he has died, those words look cruel.  They make me sick with sadness.

With the sudden absence of them, I reach out for evidence that they were here.  As if that would be enough for me to live off.  As if it could sustain my grief.

But it’s like eating air.

I take great big heaping gulps of it—so much that it fills my bloating stomach.  Eventually, I grow thin and I grow ill and sallow with the lack of real-life physicality.  It is never enough.

But I gorge myself on it anyway.  I read their words, over and over again.  I have them memorized inside my head I contemplate tattoos of them inscribed upon the inside of my arm.  “Hurry up,” it would say.  And everyone would ask me what it meant and I would tell them that it means we never have the time we think we will.  And maybe they would love their people just a bit more than they did before they asked.

Now is not a good time to grow ill.  My grandmother, we visit her throughout the week inside the rehab.  Only she’s inside, not us.  Us, we stand in the bushes, just outside a window, placing all of our collective fingers up against the glass.  When she leans forward with her arms out in her wheelchair, the weight of all her smallness is imprinted on the glass.

They’ve set up a single rod-iron chair, as if this visiting spot inside the bushes is for single visitors, not families.  The nurse says it’s good for her rehabilitation to see us—that it helps her with her speech.  Each time we go, her mouth has straightened out a bit more than the last.  Her words sound more pronounced.  This time, she pulls a tissue from the box all by herself.  We cheer for her from outside the window, and smile when she cheers back.

Maybe our mortality looks different inside quarantine.  Our access to a final moment—revoked.  Our access to a visitation—restricted.  There is no power in death, but there is usually the power to be present for it.

But not now.

For most, our return to normal will be a seamless transition.  But for many others, the days will be spent with a new and overwhelming sadness—the sadness of not being there for the ones you love.

It is a great reminder to speak kindly.  To maintain a generosity of spirit.  To extend grace, without needing reasons why.  No one in the world is so strong that they are not also weak.  Fragility is in our natures.  Vulnerability, embedded in our codes.

Life moves on, but not for everyone.

So hurry up.  Don’t have much time.

36 thoughts on “Glass”

  3. Another beautifully penned piece, Shayleene. I think many of us are being confronted with our mortality via this virus. There never were any guarantees, but we acted as though life would go on forever. The fact remains we’ve always held a tenuous grip on life and the time is probably shorter than we realize. It’s an invitation to make each and every moment count.

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    1. Ah–your words there. “We’ve always held a tenuous grip on life” could not be more true. I’ve felt a lot of control being lost over the past couple of months (and let’s be honest, it’s control I never really had in the first place lol), and I think there is even grief over that! It is jarring, certainly. I need to allow it to teach me patience and acceptance–that’s the part I am still working on 🙂

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      1. Doing well, thanks! Later stopping at my mother’s place at an assisted living facility to drop off a big of gifts for her. Can only wave at her from the porch. We can open the window a tad so she can hear me better, but she doesn’t like the cold air. She lived in Florida for 35 years before coming to Ohio two years ago. Then a one hour drive up the road to spend time with our son and his family, whom we haven’t seen for several months! Not sure what Mother’s Day holds for you, trusting it will be a good day for you.

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  11. Savannah

    I love the way you speak of your experience like prose, highlighting the beauty of a small moment of happiness at the remembrance of someone who has past. I read once that the best thing we can do when someone dies besides move forward is to honor them with remembrance of happy memories. It isn’t the case for everybody, but memories can help process and heal the pain, especially if you can share them with someone else who is still alive and also remembers. It is a reminder that someone who mattered to us was real and mattered and made an impact to others as well. We are not alone. Wishing care your way. xxx

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    1. I love your words here. It is true that remembering the times you had with them is special–or their quirks, the unusual things they said or did or how they smiled or the pace of their gait. It’s funny. Those moments do bring comfort and tie us back to place. At least we have them–it’s a good reminder 🙂

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  15. Very True! We never have enough time! We never are promised tomorrow. Therefore, it is upon us to make sure we leave no stone unturned. If we do not say, “I love you.” today, will ever have the chance to say it–maybe not! Do what you can with today, for tomorrow may never be ours! Thank You for sharing! Yes, the current quarantine does make for different ways of doing things, but no less important–that doing! Blessings!

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  19. I liked what you wrote, i try to encompass what i write with self experience, thoughts, and imagination. There was a movie with Morgan Freeman, the actor, that i liked to help young readers to go out and discover their talents. It was called “The magic of Belle Isle” , enjoy amd vontinue to see whats not there…..
    John Denny

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  21. pinklightsabre

    Great advice, written on your wrist or not it sounds like it’s imprinted on you, that spirit. I like the image of you and your family outside your grandmothers window and her mouth straightening, good phrasing there and universal visual, that. Thanks for popping by my blog today too. Be kind, be well!

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