Monday

Hello!

Well its been a wonderful day so far here in nyc. I just got back from a little run and it was so peaceful. Anyone who is a nyc runner knows about about this quaint reservoir (its called the Jackie Onassis Reservoir) in the middle of central park, its only about a mile around but its a place to relax and be in nature within such a bustling place. I'm fortunate that my Aunt and Uncle's abode sits only a few blocks away from the reservoir loop. I posted a picture below of a view from the trail. I also posted a picture of Braydon and I from this weekend, this was on the rooftop of the townhouse before going out to dinner...we have become quite savvy with my camera's self-timer :)

As I mentioned before, I have today and tomorrow off from work. While its nice to relax, I have a to-do list that has about 20 tasks to accomplish...so I'm still staying busy.

Many of you know that I am quite a book worm; I absolutely love reading new books (I'm especially a fan of non-fiction health/psychology books). I classify myself as one of ''those people'' who can spend hours in Barnes and Noble and have no idea where the time went. I just finished reading Elizabeth Kubler Ross' On Death and Dying. It's a real classic, published in the 1970's, she really was the pioneer of the dying process and stages of grief. Elizabeth Kubler Ross was a physician who conducted interviews with terminally ill patients in a quest to learn what dying people need in the last leg of their journey. I loved this book and really related toher reflections and conclusions about caring for people facing death. There were so many inspirational passages but I would like to share one in particular with you all. The following passage comes from a patient interviewed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross; he discusses how he finds solace in accepting the death of the young and innocent. This passage really resonates with me; if I were to give my explanation on how I accept death it would mirror what this wise patient has to say...

"And it's faith, it isn't theory of someone else, meaning I don't understand God's way and many things that happen, but I believe that God is greater than I am and when I look at the young people dying, and their parents, and everyone says what a waste and that, I can see. I say, "God is love." It isn't just words, I really mean it. And that he, if he is love, then he knows that this moment of this person's life is their best moment and if they had lived longer, if they had lived less, he couldn't give them as much of eternity or they would have in eternity a punishment that would be worse than it would be now. I think in his love, this is how I can accept the deaths of the young and the innocent."

**************************************************

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

-Mother Teresa