Love comes in many forms

On Sunday I took a writing workshop and one of the lessons was to write an inventory of memories for each decade.  You write for just 5 mins and quickly jot down the "best of" your cherished memories.
Then we were posed with the question of if we could choose only one of these memories to relive, which one would it be? That was hard for me because many of my best memories were an era or phase that lasted over time, not just one snapshot. I was struck that the others in the class chose memories connected to their marriage or family.  Since I have lived alone for many years, that would not be one of my choices. What I do know though is that I have a lot of love in my life.  Today was a day when I was shown that all over again!

I stopped by one of the club houses where I play once a month and was greeted in the parking lot by a man who is so affectionate to sweet to me. He ran up to me and hugged me and said, "I love you!" and then as an afterthought he added, "I love you like a sister, you're my friend." I said, "I love you too, you are my brother!" Eddie is an African-American man somewhere in his 60s who would be very handsome if he didn't appear downtrodden due to circumstances I don't know much about.  He reached for my guitar and carried it for me as we walked to the club house together.  When I got inside, I was greeted by another man who embraced me a long time and kissed me. Then he held my hand for awhile and told me it was his birthday on Saturday. I said, "I bet I am older than you" and he laughed and hugged and kissed me again. (it turns out I was right :)

This is a place where people with mental health challenges hang out during the day. There is a patio outside where we do most of our singing together. Many of them chain smoke and there are several coffee cans filled with cigarette butts.  I sat down next to one of the women who usually sings with me and I started to play some blues progressions and said we could make up a blues song. So I sang about smoking outside and taking in the sunshine and having a good time.  We were laughing and enjoying our time together.  I feel honored that these people let me be part of their lives. When I am there I see a glimpse of life that many do not see. They make do with so little and seem to not have much. But they do love music and they really appreciate me. It is good.

PS My answer to the question of what memory I would live again is that I would relive the summer of 1987 when I had a summer job at Omega institute in NY. How about you?  If you had to choose one memory what would  it be?