There is a poem entitled “To A Mouse” by Scottish author Robert Burns. The premise of the poem is that a mouse has built a nest in a farmer’s field. The nest is necessary for the mouse to survive the winter. The farmer inadvertently plows over the nest. Knowing this ultimately will lead to the death of the mouse, the farmer starts apologizing to it. While you may not be familiar with the poem, there is a good chance you have heard a more modern English translation of one of the lines from it. “The best laid plans of mice and men go awry” or “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry”.
That line describes part of the beginning of my Sabbatical. In June of last year, Jen and I were driving back from The Woodlands where we had attended a concert. My phone rang. It was Chris. He was the first friend I made after moving to Abilene in 1979. I met him on the first day of school my junior year of high school. When I say friend, I don’t mean one of the 800 people who “Like” some goofy video you post on Facebook. I mean the kind of friend who always has your back – the kind of friend you can trust with your biggest secrets. Chris was my best man when Jen and I got married. I was his best man twice. Neither time took. Apparently I was better at being a groom than a best man.
Chris was calling with bad news. He was sick – very sick. He had end stage liver disease. The doctors told him that best case scenario he might live 5 years but that even a cold could kill him. One of my big Sabbatical plans was to go to Florida to see my friend one last time. That plan came to an end on May 22 when his sister called me to tell me my friend, my brother, had died.
While I mourn the loss of my friend, I do have a new Sabbatical plan. And it is a plan that I’m looking forward to. On September 25, my mom will celebrate her 85th birthday. We have a big party planned at my favorite Mexican food restaurant in San Antonio, Mi Tierra. I will do a follow up after we return.
We have started our service project which is delivering Meals on Wheels. We have delivered twice so far. We got off to a bit of a rough start on Monday as 2 of the recipients didn’t answer the door. I called MOW per their instructions. It always bothers me when they don’t answer the door, and we have to leave. Obviously, the hope is that there’s nothing wrong. Day 2 went much more smoothly. We had a different route with twice as many stops (13 to be exact), but we didn’t have any issues.
I didn’t take a Sabbatical in 2010, so this is my first experience. I expected going into it that the service project would be my favorite part. It’s always a blessing to do a little good for the hood. It doesn’t necessarily take a huge effort to brighten someone’s day. A little effort and kindness can go a long way.
It is 11:03 pm. If I’m going to get the required rest, I should wrap this up.
Ciao for now.