Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Profound moments in life




The other day I was thinking about the special moments in my life. I was on my way to work and had been thinking about my dear friend Diana who is quite ill with cancer and I don't know how much longer she'll be around.


We had talked about our vicarious families - the children of friends and colleagues. Diana is an only child so she doesn't have the benefit of nieces and nephews as I do.

But I thought how some people put their wedding as the greatest day of their lives, or the births of children. I don't have that but I have accomplished a few significant moments - graduations, investiture as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The most profound moments have been the quiet ones. Like Elijah on the mountaintop - God came in a gentle whisper. For me many of those moments included music. A non-exhaustive list in no particular order:

  • holding each of my newborn nieces and nephews
  • some moments of prayer
  • the Sanctus in the Mozart Requiem
  • singing Handel's Messiah
  • singing the Mahler 8th Symphony
  • performing Ticheli's American Elegy with the Capitol Pride Symphonic Band
  • the CPSB trip to Concord, New Hampshire
  • a weekend at the Ciskanik summer home in Pennsylvania
  • summer-rep theatre at WVU
  • the moment as the curtain opened in Oliver! - a show I stage managed my senior year
  • baking cookies with Nana
  • listening to Ma tell family stories
  • sitting atop a mountain in Germany
  • standing near the Grotto in Lourdes
  • lunch in Orvieto with Bart
  • many evenings at home with George
  • family walks in the woods with Uncle Stan and Uncle Gene
  • floating on the river
  • enjoying friends

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