what a strange land

The place where I have been dwelling for these six months is hard to describe. The ups and downs, tears and love yes, love. I feel it surrounding me in memories and insights. A continuum of the life I had before but in a different form. 

The other day a memory came back of when John and I were newly dating. It was 1965 and that August he went off with his Dad to Saratoga to work at the racetrack. He never got a high school ring so I gave him mine to wear as a remembrance. It looked good on him with its gold and red stone.

One night when I was doing something in my room a thought came very suddenly out of the blue: he's lost your ring. Odd. The next night he called and sadly he told me that having lost so much weight in the heat , the ring slipped off and despite looking tirelessly it was gone. I couldn't believe it, how did I know? I was pretty excited thinking I had some great gift like ESP. My mother was not. She had paid for the ring.

It had been years since that incident came to my mind and when it did the other day I realized this: I have not demonstrated gifts like that since. It was always because John and I were connected that I knew. Where did that understanding come from all these years later?

 There were hardships, pot holes, misunderstandings and heart aches but the string was always tethered to our hearts and one pull and all was well. And now the person I love sees all things clearly with an eternal eye. He uses songs, dreams, and long ago happenings to help me see that we are still connected by that golden string that I first wound around my finger when I was 14.