07/07/10

For You, I Wish a Beautiful Walk
by: Tricia LaVoice

I wish I could explain loneliness and why we feel anxiety, give you an answer for why we lash out at those we love and why we feel hurt sometimes. I wish I had an answer for why we can see our lives are full but we still have bouts of emptiness and why we can feel lonely in a room full of people. I wish I could make it all better before it even starts to hurt, but I can’t. So I wish for you to know that feelings of failure and inadequency are part of the walk. I wish for you to know you are more like everyone else than you know. Your thoughts, your fears, your realizations are all okay. I wish for you to see how beautiful you are and realize your value lies within your heart. And in time, it will be your heart that shows you all I wish for you. This is your walk and I wish for you to know I am always walking with you. For you, I wish a beautiful walk.

06/26/10

For you, I Wish the Intrigue and Limits of the Shadow
by: Tricia LaVoice

The first mistake you make is to think you know me based on the silhouette of my life you see. The first mistake I make is to think I know you based on the silhouette of your life I see. We come into one another’s lives, sometimes for a moment, sometimes staying a lifetime, but like the shadow of a tree we are limited to what we know of one another. The shadow displays height and form but exhibit little of the strength of her roots, the origin of her seeds. The shadow, mystical yes, yet incapable of displaying the color of her leaves giving no insight to if they dropped or floated in her winter months. With all its intrigue, the shadow tells us little about depth, little about the life that exist within the branches we see…The first mistake you make is to think you know me based on the silhouette of my life you see. The first mistake I make is to think I know you based on the silhouette of your life I see. For you, I wish the intrigue and limits of the shadow.

06/01/10

For You, I Wish a Peaceful Night's Sleep
by: Tricia LaVoice

Mother of a soldier boy, do you know where your child sleeps tonight? Does he eat from a can? Does he nap in ditches? Mother of a soldier boy, do you fear a stranger at your door? Does the sound of bagpipes panic you? Mother of a soldier boy, can you remember his smile, his laughter, the twinkle in his eyes? Tell me, do so you walk to his closet to smell his clothes? Do you curl up like a baby and cry on his bed? Mother of a soldier boy, my boy sleeps safely in a room next to mine; I see his smile and hear his laughter every day. I smell the clothes on his back and I curl on his bed reading him a story. Mother of a soldier boy, does this upset you? Does it feel unfair? Mother of a soldier boy, my son walks in your son's honor, he breathes in your son’s sacrifice, he grows in your son's dignity and courage. I bow to you, I salute you. I cannot see the color of your skin, I cannot hear the words of your politicians, all I see is your bleeding heart. Mother of a soldier boy, rest your head against your pillow, dream in colors, wake in peace. Tonight, let me watch the door, let me guard the phone. Place your fears on the bedside next to you, let the mothers of the universe hold your son in their thoughts tonight. Mother of a soldier boy, I wish you a peaceful sleep.

 

04/15/10

Watch Tricia LaVoice read a very special version of a wish she wrote for my mom, Jean Gibbons, before she passed away in 2008 from Alzheimer's disease. Thank you Tricia for your words which always offer me comfort and hope.

For You, I Wish the Dignity of Jeepers
by: Tricia LaVoice

They call her Jeepers, a name she inherited some sixty years ago. When I entered her room I was moved by emotion, words could not prepare me for her disturbing condition as she slumped uncomfortably in her chair. Feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, I spoke quietly to her but her vacant stare offered no response. I traveled far to be in her presence inspired by her story. It had been many years since the thief we call Alzheimer crept into her life robbing her of everything only leaving the physical to endure endless suffering, leaving no hope, no cure, devastating those who loved her so dearly. Here she breathed living in misery, stripped of her dignity yet no one I had met before her was more deserving of self respect or the respect of others. She had witnessed the vicious crimes of her disease in her own mother before her, she was aware that a stranger would enter her mind humiliating her grace before she would vanish altogether into her own silence. She was fully aware of it all yet she asked her family, for the sake of finding a cure, preventing the suffering in others, to tell her story. Footage of her demise has been observed by countless people awakening the need for change and her selflessness, courage to make a difference has done just that, made a difference…….Her caretakers moved her to the bed and she immediately curled to a fetal position as if desperately trying to return to a place of warmth and safety. I moved to the bed with her and curled at her feet and over time a peace, a comfort lying with her over took me. There I read to her, I rubbed her aching body and sung her a lullaby. In those moments I fell in love with this great woman honored with the opportunity to show my gratitude. For you, I wish the dignity of Jeepers.

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