Thankfulness, Part Five

Thankfulness Project, Part Five

(Scroll through previous entries to see parts 1-4)

The Moments Seize Us

Karen Cutaneo...thank you for that shooting star...on that night...when we were least expecting it. Never before nor since have I shared that experience with anyone. It was every bit of the word -- magical! Perhaps some moments we do seize, but I am certain that on that night it was the moment that seized us.

Viktoriya Semenyak, two years ago, on a New Year's Eve, on a rooftop bar, at the Doubletree Hotel in Amsterdam, you approached me and asked me to join you and Valentina in celebrating the dazzling city of Amsterdam. I cannot begin to tell you how much that simple, beautiful, and friendly gesture meant to me. I was in a sad and dark space that night when we met. You changed my whole experience. The next day I again joined you and Valentina, and we ate, laughed, and danced the night (and morning) away. Oh, what life in us! No matter how old we get, those memories are frozen in time. We are forever young!

Sandra Nogueiras Caruso, I didn't tell you this then, but I want to tell it to you now. We've known each other for several years, as I am a yearly feature at the Frelinghuysen Middle School. I have always enjoyed our talks and catch-up moments, but this past year was a moment that seized me.

You relayed to me that your husband is a jazz musician. I asked you, "Do you like jazz?" You quickly responded, "No." I started laughing. (I'm still laughing). I was so happy to hear that, because I have no stomach nor ear for jazz, but it is considered the music of the intelligentsia. We are both highly intelligent (or at least fake it well), but I just don't get jazz. I've tried to appreciate it, but I always fall short.

What I really loved and learned from that moment was your bold acceptance of YOU. You are married to a jazz musician. And yet, it doesn't concern you that a critical part of your spouse is submerged within a music venue in which you have neither passion nor interest. You still love him. There is no conflict for you to love (and marry) a person, while still maintaining an essential part of you. You (or your ears) are boldly at odds with jazz, yet you are not dismissive towards those who differ from you. I'm not sure that you realize most of the world fails to embrace that transparency. Trust me. I know. I am a fellow sojourner. I have been at odds with the world for a long time.

Your confession that day tickled me because it was bold, honest, and stripped away from the malaise of everyday chatter; it was, indeed, a seized moment. That day was a transcendent experience, as those moments are few in our brief stint on this planet. Thank you. Your unscripted, out-of-the-box, authenticity was and is deeply welcomed. Ironically, jazz was created out of the unscripted, out-of-the-box, authenticity we presented to each other. So, perhaps, like all jazz, we just play it slightly different.

Tracy Lawrence, this story goes back to the day that we started our friendship. I was at your school, packing up after a performance, and you came up on the stage to talk to me. We instantly connected. Heart to heart. Our passion for those who have been misrepresented and ostracized was very clear. But it was more than that. We realized that our paths were strangely connected, even though we grew up in different environments, do not share a similar look, and enjoy a plethora of varied interests. However, what was and is clear both then and now is the wonderful, tingling laughter and rage we share towards issues in the world. What I thought would be a brief conversation ended up lasting the better part of an hour. When we finished, (we both wished for it to continue), we gave each other the most soul connected hug. What a moment! I still relish in the way my heart celebrated with you. Thank you, dear Tracy.

May we always have more moments in all our future connections, whether on stages, dinners, driveways, or theaters. May we seize momentous occasions!

Kelly Marie, you are class. Remember how we both felt the night we saw a Broadway show a couple of years ago? We had gotten some food and drinks beforehand. I don't remember all the topics we discussed, but I recall the mutual elation we experienced.  And do you remember how each time we went out for dinner or drinks on our subsequent adventures, the amazement we had in just feeling alive? I recall the statement we both would laughingly announce: "We are so lucky!"

And we were. And we are. We are lucky to be a part of all of this. We are lucky to laugh. We are lucky to shed tears. We are lucky to be hurt. We are lucky to be alive. In our brief time of spending time, we bought every second we spent. Our gift was found in the multiple, seized moments.

My life is richer and luckier in crossing paths with you.