Ecclesiastes

Is anyone else old enough to remember this series of symbols?  They were hand-written on a chalkboard while a voice intoned their meaning (man, woman, birth, death, infinity) at the beginning of every episode of the television series "Ben Casey."


This morning I awoke to the happy news that Evelyn Suzanne had been born to friends of our kids.  I'd made her a quilt a couple of months ago.  It was a joyful start to what would be a hard morning.


Out I went, then, to attend the funeral of my Circle sister's husband.  He'd been one of the first people we'd met when we joined our church so many years ago, a guy who always had a twinkle in his eye.  I sat with Circle sisters and reflected that Marlise is the third of us to have been widowed, and how important the support of long-time friends is at these times.


Ran a couple of errands afterward and then came home to learn that a friend's much-anticipated grandbaby had been born this morning; welcome to the world, Alma Eleanora!


Man, woman.  Birth, death.  Joy, sorrow.   Ecclesiastes.