Tuesday, August 24, 2010.
A normal day... 6am, go to the gym, 7:30am, back at home, make a latte, say bye to husband and get child up from bed. Or at least forcing myself into normalcy.
I head out to my studio (literally a few steps out of the house to the yard... yes, I do realize the glory of this) to begin my day. Onto work... email this person, print out that project to send off, update design, etc.... all normal.
Shortly after Noon, I receive a call on my work line. I answer. And I hear an elderly voice launch into, "Alice, this is Mabel. I'm calling to let you know I'm not coming over, I fell, so I'm just going to stay in." I immediately recognized the voice. Mabel has been calling me randomly for the last 3 years. Here's the strange part. Today was the first time that she ever called my work line. All previous times, she called the home phone line. The work and home phone numbers are completely different. But still, without thinking, I replied, "I'm sorry, but you have the wrong number." She stuttered, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry," and "click."
What just happened? Mabel called on my work line, how the heck did she know THAT number? Yes, in the past I was annoyed by her calls, but today, I felt different. And I couldn't figure out the phone swap. Then reality started to hit. Sometimes we do the stupidest things... why?... because you are on auto-pilot?... rushed to get to a deadline?... don't care?... blurring through life?... Thank goodness I let the little voices in my head whisper to me, "Did you hear that? She said she fell. Yeah, it's freaky that it's reminiscent to what happened the night of August 19, 2010 at The Swell Season Concert, but that was THAT night. This is TODAY. SNAP OUT OF IT. She said she fell. (Now all of you get a snippet of what my mind does, literally). So, I dialed *69, in hopes that I could get back to her. And I DID! I introduced myself over the phone and told her I just received a call from her... the wrong number person and was calling back to make sure she was not hurt. She replied that she was alright and appreciated the call. We exchanged a few more nice words. I find out she's 97 and lives at a nearby senior housing center. We said our good byes. "Click."
Back to work. Normalcy. Time check... Ack! Gotta get to the print shop to drop off a job and get a quote. Head out and do exactly that. All the while, I still am thinking of Mabel. Mabel. Mabel.
Get back to the studio: 2pm. Mabel. 2:13pm. Amazingly no calls since Mabel. I've decided. I want to meet her. I *69 her again. She answers. I re-introduce myself and tell her that I would love to meet her, and ask if she would be comfortable with this and if 4pm would work. She says yes. (I'm feeling it: I "CHOOSE" LOIS!)
3:30pm. Get Liam (child), stop at Lucky's to pick up a pretty potted fuscia plant (Liam picks it out) and we drive to meet Mabel. (Truth be told. I was freaked out! What if I get there, and they say there is no Mabel, or worse, she's dead. No joke, that probably would have given me every reason to "check myself in".) We arrive, walk into the center, find her door with her name plate on it, all lovingly decorated with family photos, cards, flowers, and patriotic ribbons. She is loved. We knock. Liam and I are holding hands and the potted fuscia plant. She opens the door. As corny as this may sound, she was a beam of love, warmth and light. We hugged immediately. Kindred spirits. She lets us in.
In our little half hour, we shared our backgrounds. Liam was well-behaved and Mabel approved. I couldn't get over at how youthful she was. Here's a woman who is almost a centurion, but was vivacious, open-minded, sharp as a tack, with positive disposition, and welcoming a stranger into her home. I asked her how it was she dialed my number and she showed me a listing of numbers of other residents there, one of which was her friend Alice. Alice's number was exactly matching my office line, with the exception of the last number, so that made sense in how she called me by chance today. But it didn't make sense in how she had been calling me for the last 3 years on my home phone. A completely different number. I told her this, and she seemed baffled as well. I told her that I had recently experienced something which had and still is affecting me deeply—to open up and do what my mind and heart says. And that was why I was there. She was very moved by that.
I don't know where this will go, as it JUST HAPPENED! But, I do know I've met someone special who I am going to get to know. Sunday, I plan on bringing her some pastries, and share more time with her. I'm really looking forward to it. I find it curious that the names "Lois" and Mabel" come from that same era of WWI generation, strong, simple but memorable women names.
As I end this entry. I will leave you with a few photos of Mabel and I (that Liam took).... and two more "universe/God/Buddha/pick-your-passion-theology" moments that grabbed my attention today. The first was at the gym. As a newbie at hitting the gym lately at 6am, let's just say that I am not altogether really awake, just rev'ing up. While on the treadmill.... my eyes kept wandering... tired at reading the captions on the TVs, but not really interested in lip reading the news reporters. Today, my eyes kept falling on part of a signage for the emergency defibrillator box directly in front of me on the wall, but settling only on 3 particular words: "Door is open!" And lastly... if you look really close (click on image) at Mabel's earrings... they are a luminous glow of glassine blue baubles.... perhaps not Paddington Bear blue, but moonlit-glow blue.
I found my "Lois" in Mabel.
