A PERFECT DAY, PART II

Clams with Linguica

In September 2015, I wrote here about “A Perfect Day.” The conclusion was that a perfect day would include remembering to appreciate life’s special moments. Today was one of those days full of happiness. My niece Angela and her boyfriend Nick are spending a long weekend with us. The weather is beautiful; digging for quahogs at low tide was fun and the subsequent dinner of Clams with Linguica we all prepared together was fantastic.

My plan for today’s blog was to write about this, another perfect day. Then life intervened. I got one of those phone messages no one wants: “Alexis and Bill, please call me” from a friend who, along with her husband, has been a traveling companion on many adventures in foreign lands. Her news was terrible. Two nights ago her husband was killed in a horrific storm when a large tree fell on the room in which he was sleeping. She was in another part of their small cottage and was unharmed.

I rejoined the family for dinner and we talked about our friend, his life and death, and what his wife must be going through. Then we got a second “Please call me message,” this time from one of my sisters. She passed along the news that our sister-in-law had been seriously injured in a biking accident. We have subsequently learned that she will be okay but will need surgery and time to return to her normal self. The perfect day turned out to be not perfect at all. On the other hand, it was real life. And as before, it was a reminder to appreciate what we have.

Photo by William C. Popik, M.D. (who else?)

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