Looking for Rainbows and Finding Them

It’s been a rough few months:

The death of my brother, Bill, the oldest of my nine siblings and the leader of the pack (unless I needed to take over) rocked our world.

Less than a month later, his lovely daughter, Kristin, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. She and Tai have two daughters, ages 8 and 12.

The devastating announcement that the school where I worked for 42 years is closing after 60-years, despite stellar accomplishments–this year alone–that include an 88% AP pass rate, a State finalist robotic team, 100% acceptance rate to four year colleges, and National Merit Scholars.

My grandson, Ryan, had his clavicle shattered while playing lacrosse for UCLA last weekend.

So where are the rainbows?

My brother’s death brought his siblings and some of his nieces and nephews to his side during his remaining days. My favorite memory is of Eamon (nephew) singing the classic Irish song, Red is the Rose, to him. My brother, in his hospital bed, leans forward and smiles.

Kristin and her Dad at her wedding in 2008

For Kristin, the Allen village has surrounded her. Every day, my sister, Barbara, arranges a rosary on Zoom for anyone who can attend. Sometimes, when Kristin is in a lot of pain following a chemo treatment, Barbara calls her and soothes her. Sometimes, we get a beautiful video with Kristin playing the piano and her family dancing to the music. Sometimes, in our dreams and meditations and prayers, we visualize our mother healing her. We tell her about these. Kristin has started a blog called Passage2Recovery. You can access it here.  https://passage2recovery.wordpress.com/

Kristin and family last week

As for the school: the La Reina Village of alumnae, parents, students, and teachers have marched in protest, created a website, filed a complaint, started a gofundme page for a beloved teacher who is fighting cancer, etc. The alumnae have become the “moral and self-confident leaders, who work for the transformation of individuals and society” that the school has developed. https://www.facebook.com/groups/savelareina

Ryan had surgery to repair the clavicle. He is recuperating at home.

There is always some laughter.

When I received a text with a picture of Ryan lying on the couch with his best buddy next to him, the picture was so touching, I was prompted to ask Ryan what his friend’s pronouns were. The answer: that/dude.

I was kicked off Instagram. According to the email, “Your Instagram account has been suspended. This is because your account, or activity on it, doesn’t follow our Community Guidelines.”  What have I posted, you might ask? NOTHING! EVER! I am an Instagram voyeur only. About 5 years ago, a grandson signed me up so I could see the comings and goings of my 9 grandchildren. Granted, they have occasionally posted (in my opinion) some inappropriate material: a too-short homecoming dress; too many cans of beer; way too many bikinis, etc. Three days later I received another email: “Sorry, we made an error.”

Then this rainbow appeared after Kristin had her first chemo treatment.