A beginning ~ and a mystery for me

Beginning

I had not been teaching long before I realized that amid the ordinary hustle and bustle of each school day, blessed little events, magical tiny moments, and lovely little coincidences were happening around me.  I felt sure these happenings were heaven sent.  I felt in awe that I was the only one (well, the only one over four feet tall anyway) to witness them.)

Caterpillar Kisses: Lessons My Kindergarten Class Taught Me About Life ~ by Christine Pisera Naman, 2005, anecdotes, 100 pages

A former kindergarten teacher, Christine Pisera Naman watched over many classes of five-year-olds as they made their way through the school year and discovered new things about themselves and the world around them.  In Caterpillar Kisses, she turns her observations and insights into twelve delightful real-life vignettes, one for each month of the year.  The stories bring to life events that help these wiggly, unsure caterpillars grow into beautiful and confident butterflies.  Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and poignant, this book illustrates the good things that come from looking at life through the eyes of children.  It is perfect for anyone looking for the magic in everyday life.

This book was in a bag of books I brought home from Donna's apartment after she died.  As I pulled it out to add to the books I want to read, I discovered something tucked inside that makes me smile — now, after I figured out that this was apparently the last book my friend Donna was reading before she died.

What makes me think so?  There was a bookmark between pages 72 and 73, along with a prayer that had been printed out in 2018 and a receipt.  Usually a receipt means that's when I bought a book and stuck the receipt inside it as a bookmark.  So I looked at the date to see when Donna had bought this book.

The date on the receipt was 7/15/21.  But wait!  That's not possible.  I was very confused because Donna was in the hospital the whole month of July last year, at least until she was transferred to Hospice care three days before she died on July 24th.  She wasn't out shopping in July, for sure!  I looked closer and discovered it was a lunch receipt for a patient with the initials D. C.  And that patient had Donna's correct date of birth.  Yes, it was Donna Carey's meal on the Thursday nine days before she died.  She had ordered a fruit plate with fresh fruit and cottage cheese.  She must have been reading this book when her food tray was delivered that day, and she stuck the receipt inside.

I got a bit of a lump in my throat when I noticed the title of the chapter Donna bookmarked — "Field Trip."  She didn't finish the chapter before she went on a "field trip" unlike any we've ever been on . . . yet.

She may have started reading the book earlier, maybe in 2018, since she had this prayer stuck in the book with the bookmark and the receipt.  This is the page she had printed from Kenneth Carder's blog post of October 14, 2018.   This is what he wrote:

Prayer of Justice

I am part of a weekly study/discussion group.  We close each session with the following prayer, the author of which is anonymous:

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:

• a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
• a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
• a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
• a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.

Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.