ALL WILL BE WELL

This declaration that “all manner of thing shall be well” does not eliminate misfortune, sickness, or death. It is pointing to what all the respected wise ones say about the ability to find peace, and even joy, in the eye of the storm — to come to trust that there is something that transcends chaos and impermanence.

Julian of Norwich

I first heard this saying in a Louise Penny book: The Madness of Crowds.  In that book, the phrase was used in Canada during the pandemic as an affirmation.  It was used again in her recent book: A World of Curiosities, during a particularly tense home invasion. 

This declaration was put to the test during our recent ice storm.  One of our dear friends was stranded at SeaTac airport enroute to see her family in Eugene, OR.  Her flight was canceled and she was stuck, as were thousands of other people.

She was able to reach us and found a cab to bring her our way to spend the night and come up with a new plan.  Due to the weather, all flights were canceled and rebooking wasn’t in the cards.  The trains were fully booked long ago. She tried rental car companies, and most had no cars available or were not willing to rent for a one-way trip.  Moreover, the roads were pretty scary and driving would have been a white-knuckle experience ☹!

My husband came up with the idea for her to take the Greyhound bus (!) from Tacoma to Eugene.  She was able to grab one of the last 2 seats.  Before I go further, I want to reassure you that she was at her daughter’s home in Eugene by 2:00 AM Christmas Eve 😊.

I must admit that, at 70, I never expected to put one of my closest friends on a Greyhound bus! But it was the only game in town.

We had quite a 24-hour adventure and a lot of fun in the process.  We drank tea, talked up a storm and watched Love Actually.  My husband made an amazing beef stew and she had a bowl before heading to the Greyhound bus stop.  We kept our sense of humor and made the most of this unexpected time together.

I think one of her lessons learned was to bring a power bank to keep her electronics charged.  Amazingly, the bus had outlets so she was set! 

And here are my lessons learned:

• Turn my phone on – you never know when a friend or family member might need help
• Keep fresh sheets on the guest bed
• Have good food in the house so we can whip up something for an unexpected guest

And we both learned that ‘All will be well’ 😊

I know many people are traveling in challenging conditions this weekend.  Hopefully, everyone will stay safe and have a good friend to call if they get in a jam.

Merry Christmas,

Allene

Advertisement