Advent: The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important

This advent season I am anticipating 2 extremely important events. One is the birth of my first grandchild. When Carolyn's "incompetent cervix" was first discovered ten weeks ago, the hope was for the baby to remain in utero until 30 weeks. We are at 30 weeks now and we are thrilled that everything is looking very good and that our granddaughter seems quite happy to remain where she is now.

The other important event that I am anticipating is the death of a friend. I suppose the word is usually used in a way that suggests looking forward to something good, like the birth of a child. Gerald's death is inevitable. Unless a miracle happens, this will be his last Christmas on this earth. I do not anticipate the kind of miracle where he will suddenly jump out of his bed, completely healed. But I do know that when his time comes, he will be in a place of joy and light, where there will be no more pain or suffering. Good for Gerald. He will finally be in a place where he belongs, where he will feel completely at peace.

Birth and death. Joy and suffering. Hope and loss. And in the middle of it all, we live and try to make sense of it all.

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.

If you'd like to read something that was published in the Free Press about Gerald, look here. For the website that several of his artist friends created on his behalf, click here.