I believe in angels, most of you know that.   The one who comes around most frequently is Terri, who passed from the physical realm almost three years ago now.  She comes floating through when I least expect it, but I always know it’s her – for example coming across, tucked away in a quilt shop,  a fat quarter of one of her leftover stash fabrics from our quilting days. For those who don’t know, once a quilt fabric is gone, unless it’s from Joann’s, it’s GONE.  Like lipstick colors, the fabric gets discontinued.  Sometimes you can find it on Ebay. If you need it because you mis-measured how much you’d need (frequent problem for me), you pay the double price.  Quilters understand.   I think I wrote a blog about Terri helping me out one time with that, from beyond, when I had all but given up on finding a favorite and desperately needed fabric. To have some discontinued fabric unexpectedly pop out at me that reminded me of sitting in her dining room quilting the summer night away is, no question in my mind, a “hello” from the great beyond.

Last night I was just finishing up my third to last paper for school.  It was midnight and I took a look at Facebook before heading off to bed.  One of my FB friends had been posting how she was seeing “Kinky Boots” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts just down the street in Costa Mesa.  I’ve lived here for almost three years now and always hear about the wonderful things happening there, so last night I decided to check it out – what kind of events go on there?  Well it turns out everything.  “Kinky Boots” is a musical and has been getting great reviews from everyone who’s seen it, but concerts, ballet, you name it.  The pictures of the place look impressive.  Orange County – not as culturally dead as you might have been led to believe.

Then it caught my eye: Yo Yo Ma, world class cellist. Tuesday night.  May 5.  8 p.m.   Terri and I had gone to see him in SF during her last year of life.  I got the tickets without asking her, knowing she would love it.  We went downtown SF for dinner and the show and what a treat.  The man is like a small child, the great delight of making music resonates through his whole body, he moves as if he is in a constant state of joy.  It was really very special and one of my top ten memories with Ter.

Of course it is sold out for May.  Well, it’s only midnight plus 30 minutes, I’ll check on craigslist. Amazingly, 11 hours prior to my checking, 2 tickets had been posted.  $40/per.  The seats are in the chorale seating, which is actually behind the performance area – sort of where a chorale would stand if there was a chorale.  I immediately sent off an email and this morning I drove up to the home of an older couple in Laguna Woods Village (a gated retirement community up where Mom lives.)  I figured I probably wasn’t going to get killed or scammed in that case.  The tickets are mine.  I don’t care if I was hanging from the ceiling, but quite frankly I love the idea of being able to see the whole orchestra.

Before I sent the email I made sure I was going to be in town – had a nagging feeling I was heading out East in May?  Yes, I leave Wednesday, May 6 – for Atlanta. The purpose of my journey: to be present where Terri cannot physically be, to witness something she supported and made possible with her undying optimism since her daughter was still in high school. I am going there to be present when Anna joins me in my profession and graduates with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Emory University.  It kills me that Terri cannot witness that day, and I fear that I will be a blubbering mess when the photos of the day do not include her, but I think I got the message last night – she’ll be there, and we’ll kick off the festivities with a reprise of Yo Yo Ma the night before I leave, Al a worthy stand in for her. Today, the rainstorm (the joy of which we also shared)  is just a little wave bye-bye as she moves on, I can hear her saying “my work here is done, for now!”

“You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe.”