Friday, March 21, 2014

I see...

Today Twitter celebrated its 8th anniversary and founder Jack Dorsey - who I don't know personally, but once stood in the same room as him - tweeted the following:

Jack Dorsey @jack
8 years of seeing and sharing the world around us through tweets!  What are you seeing right now?

After reading the tweet, I glanced up from my laptop and looked out my window to see the same snow-covered woods and ice-covered lake that I've been staring at ever since I returned to Michigan at the end of December.  Our lake house sits up high on a hill, and to my left I can see the nearest three homes - one year-round residence, and two summer cottages.

And mid-front of the first cottage, there is this tree that stands out from the rest.  Unlike the others, this tree has some sort of ivy winding up the first twenty-some feet of its trunk.  And to my amazement, these leaves have stayed intact and green throughout our long winter.

With so many unknowns to my future and my body still fighting to get better, the sight of the green ivy amidst this harsh winter often reminds me, as difficult as this season may be, you will get through it.  And even if I don't - if I never return to full health - it's better to believe that I will than to give up on a maybe.

And so I replied to Jack Dorsey with a tweet, explaining what I could see out my window.

Katrina Blank @katrinablanknyc
@jack i see hope.

My friend Marty (see previous entry) is someone who continued to see and hold onto hope, despite a four year battle with cancer.  At his funeral visitation, I learned that he continued to dream and plan for the future, even at times when the status of his health didn't appear promising.  He completed his doctorate in pharmacy at the University of Toledo just last year.  And in January, he got engaged, and he and his fiancĂ© began to plan for a lifetime together.  Tragically, his life ended prematurely at the age of 31, yet Marty inspired many with how he loved and by his faith in God. 

On my way home from the visitation, I turned on my car radio and scanned through stations, stumbling upon a country station and the perfect song to accompany me as I drove into the setting sun.



By Luke Bryan

When I got the news today
I didn't know what to say
So I just hung up the phone

I took a walk to clear my head,
This is where the walking led
Can't believe you're really gone
Don't feel like going home

So I'm gonna sit right here
On the edge of this pier
Watch the sunset disappear
And drink a beer

Funny how the good ones go
Too soon, but the good Lord knows
The reasons why, I guess

Sometimes the greater plan
Is kinda hard to understand
Right now it don't make sense
I can't make it all make sense

So I'm gonna sit right here
On the edge of this pier
Watch the sunset disappear
And drink a beer

So long my friend
Until we meet again
I'll remember you
And all the times that we used to...

... sit right here on the edge of this pier
And watch the sunset disappear
And drink a beer


No comments: