The Priceless Necklace

THURSDAY, MARCH 8
It would seem that one week would be ample time for preparing to leave on a trip. It is not if the trip is for three months. I have two days before leaving, and still feel pressed despite devoting almost all hours to being cleared for take off. I need to deal with mail collection, and arrangements for bank deposits and bill paying. I acquired euro’s and an international drivers license and put software on my laptop so that I can keep my website up to date. Magazine subscriptions had to be suspended and my art supplies gathered together. The cost of shipping my supplies turned out to be way too expensive, so I am taking them along in an extra suitcase, (ughh!) I have had to take care of tasks at Jean’s house, and then at my house, get personal items out of the way and make sure everything is spotless for the person coming to rent when I leave. I ordered and received an international cell phone, and lost my glasses but don’t have time to get them replaced, (will get a prescription filled in Italy.) The tasks keep coming non-stop. Saturday at 6 PM I will get on the airport shuttle, and surely there will be things left undone. But once I am in Italy, I won’t look back.
This evening I went to an auction benefiting sick children and their families. I am on the board of Friends Forever, an organization that affords help to seriously ill children, especially by offering them, their parents and siblings, all expense paid vacations. One of the auction items was an exquisite silver, gold and diamond necklace. It came to the table where I sat, and as I held it in my hand and gazed, the light from it’s finely crafted, faceted surfaces danced and gleamed in a glittering display of dazzling beauty. As it left the table, I kept thinking of it, and then I thought of the children it was to benefit. These kids are pure and innocent, yet the dazzling light of their gem-like lives are clouded with pain and uncertainty—it is not known if their talents and gifts will unfold. They have to be warriors when those around them take pleasures for granted. For their efforts, they each deserve to wear necklaces of exquisite beauty. The children's preciousness cannot be matched by all the world's wealth.
My next blog will be from Italy, but the date of the posting is uncertain.