To Everything There is A Season

My mother is one of 5 children. She lived during the depression. My grandparents (Mary [Holland] Flaherty and TA) were somewhere around 45 and 48 years old when my mother was born. Grandma lost one daughter shortly after birth. Of the four surviving children, my mother was the youngest. Her oldest Brother Tom died about 5 years ago. I just received notice that her sister (Mary Helen) has just been moved to Nazareth home because her Alzheimers is getting too bad to manage at the assisted living facility. Shortly after that email I received another that her brother Bill has been moved to Our Lady of Peace. I'm not quite sure why. He has end stage Alzheimers. Unless he is getting to violent to handle. I am realizing that my parents (both are 80) and my Aunt and Uncle are near the end of their lives. So, for my siblings (4 brothers and 2 sisters), Aunt Mary's 9 surviving children, Uncle Tom's 4 children and Uncle Bill's 2 children................We will soon receive the torch to carry onward. We will be the oldest of the Flaherty/Nash/Randol tribe. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But I sent the below message out to my siblings and my cousin Margie soon after I received the email.................It was what I really thought at that moment. I also felt a strong need to say a Hail Mary. No matter what the church's faults....I love those comfort prayers. They come in handy when you don't know what else to say: I also know my mother loved Mary. Her name was Mary Ellen, her sister Mary Helen...My middle name is Maureen (Derivative of Mary) and my other two sisters are Mary Carol and Frances Marie. My Great-Grandmother lost 3 babies before my grandmother was born. She prayed to the Blessed Mother-vowing that if this baby lived-the babe would wear blue and white for seven years. My grandma lived, she wore blue and white for seven years and on her 7th birthday bought and orange polkadot dress....Now, I'm sure in the late 1800's that was a statement.........Hmmmmmmmmmmmm the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Hail Mary,Full of Grace,The Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among women,and blessed is the fruitof thy womb, Jesus.Holy Mary,Mother of God,pray for us sinners now,and at the hour of death.
Amen.

Dear Family,

All of this is indeed sad news. I too am out of town (in Boston). What a gift instant communication can be though! I suspect Uncle Bill, Your mom and my mom would all say [and Uncle Tom]..........."To everything There is a Season".....Take our torch as our's fade and carry it stong and proud. I wish the Oldest of our's peace and comfort as they approach the final stages of their earthly lives. It is hard to say out loud isn't it? Probably as much because we realize we have awesome shoes to fill....and it's almost time to fill them.

Ruth Bornstein’s The Dancing Man relates the story of an orphan boy, Joseph, who lives in a dreary village where life is hard and the people are laughless. Worst of all, no one dances.

One evening, an old man appears before Joseph and, stepping slowly, offers him a gift—dancing shoes. For years, the boy dances in these shoes, bringing great joy to many who live in the multitude of dreary villages throughout the region. But eventually Joseph grows old and tires. He can no longer dance, even though he knows the world will return to its dreariness without the gift he offers.
Just as he can go no further, he spots a young boy alone on the beach. Joseph dances up to the boy, sweeps off his hat, and declares, "I’m the Dancing Man, and I have a gift for you...."