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Year Three, Day 357: Walking with the Magnificat

Back in the hoop today!  It felt so good. And I slept like a log again last night!  I am still drinking about 2 liters of water a day.  And unplugging at night.

I am finishing up a course of antibiotics. My nurse practitioner is determined to break this cough/asthma cycle.  

It feels so wonderful to breathe deeply.

It also feels wonderful to be conscious the whole day!  

I had an interesting walk to the bus stop this morning.  Today I was meeting my mom for breakfast.  She is an early bird, so I needed to leave the house before 7:00 a.m. to meet her.

Unfortunately, the bus that runs in front of my house does not run after 6:30 p.m. weekdays. It does not run at all on the weekend!

So I have to walk 1 mile to the nearest bus stop.

I had been listening to my online Classical Music class that I was taking from  Yale University.  But I finished the course.  I am quite sad. It was an amazing class and a good way to pass a mile walk. I have a few other classes I'm dabbling in. But they are not the same.  The instructors do not have the charisma that the professor from Yale had.

So this morning I had the idea to listen to recordings of Bach's Magnificat as I walked.  Most recordings are just under 30 minutes. The perfect amount of time. 

The choir I accompany has been working on this incredible work since the beginning of the school year. We are performing it two weeks from today. I'll be playing the organ.  Last week's rehearsal felt like we were transported to another level.  Beyond just the technical: notes, rhythm, lyrics...

It felt like we were beginning to make music. My arms are breaking out in goose bumps just thinking about it.

And today, as I put in my headphones, and pressed the play button on the Youtube recording, the goosebumps came back. With a vengence.  

I realize I am starting to really get inside the music. I have practiced it enough, that some of the passages I have by memory.  My spirits soared as I floated down the road, lifted up by the beautiful, pure tones.  

And everywhere I looked, I noticed brilliant colors that I had never really noticed before. Were they there all along? I didn't remember those flowers being such a vibrant hue.  It was an incredible, surreal experience.  







I think I will listen to the Magnificat on my daily walks for the next two weeks. 

I am so looking forward to this performance!

On another note, I have an uncle that is quite ill. He is very dear to me. He and his wife and children took me in when I was an awkward, angst filled teenager. I lived with them for a year.  Our family is praying that he will stay with us awhile longer. He is deeply loved.

My mother and I got to video chat with him last week over breakfast. He was in his hospital bed. My mother thanked me with tears in her eyes afterwards for connecting them.  My cousin initiated it. She also sent me a picture of him today. I am praying so hard. He is the dearest man I know.

My mother just texted me a picture of her holding me as a baby, and my uncle standing by her side. It was my baptism picture. They were so young.  And beautiful.  


Life does go by in the blink of an eye.  Today was a day that I felt truly present.  Trying not regret all the times I have not been there.

And vowing to remember the bright flowers, the ethereal music, and the loves between family members.

I will talk to you tomorrow.

Love,

Zita

And here is today's hooping video. Day 308!




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