WHAT'S THIS ABOUT RENEWAL?

Early in April I wrote about renewal--spring had come, Easter was upon us, my neighborhood was seeing a neglected dwelling come back to life.

Now, six weeks later, I'm still thinking about renewal. Here's why:

--A week or so ago I received a note from a cousin's daughter. (I'm one of 26 +/- grandchildren in the Emery & Josie Jenkins clan.) At this time of my life, there are only a few of the 26 left--a couple of them, sisters, are in their early 90s; the rest of us are mid-70s to early 80s, with one youngster about 65. The note came from Debbie, daughter of a cousin who died late in 2019; she wasn't sure I'd heard about the passing of her mom and later her dad.

In her short note she filled me in on quite a bit of family history. I sent a reply by US mail, and gave her my email address. We're now connecting the modern way; I'm up to speed with my two 90-something cousins, and I know why my mail to one in Illinois has been returned--she's in the hospital/rehab after a fall resulting in broken bones, etc.

Just the simple note and emails have given me a new perspective about my life--I always knew I had all those cousins, most of whom I'd met, and I knew how they were related to me. Now they're more than memories--the next generation is alive to me; I'm learning things about the family that I never knew, or perhaps didn't remember.

--Last week I received an email out of the blue from a fellow student in my second-stage college days. There were four of us--two women, two men--all returning students after a period of absence from the campus. Three of us were English majors; the other woman was a French major, and I eventually also added French so I ended up with a double major. The four of us were unbelievably simpatico. Our backgrounds were varied: city/country, Indiana/other, married/single. But our backgrounds weren't what held us together--we had each tried college, left for one reason or another, realized we needed/wanted further education, and made the sometimes agonizing decision to return to school. (We were fortunate in our choice--the school was a satellite of both Indiana University and Purdue University--commuter campus only in those days--and we weren't the only students older than 18 and just out of high school.) Of the four of us, some had classes together, but our main contact was in the commons where we drank coffee, smoked (yes, Virginia, people smoked freely in those days), sometimes studied, and talked, always talked. We were serious. And we had a good time, but we weren't crazy like the times we lived in. We were, simply, hungry for other minds to interact with.

I hope my friend and I can get together, maybe for lunch. No plans set yet. And since we're all in advanced stages of life, there may not be a time we can get together. But there's the possibility and the hope.

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Renewal occurs in all corners of our lives--our houses and gardens; our attitudes and beliefs; our friendships and family connections.

In my case, I re-discovered folks I might have thought were lost to me. Instead, they were just somewhere along the way, waiting for me to turn and see them. My recent experiences were good surprises, the only kind I can accept. And for which I give thanks.

Wishing you good surprises and happy renewal!