MEXICO, AGAIN

I am in Mexico City once again. With friends and I am working on having a good time. I think I am having a good time, but it all feels surreal. I sometimes feel as if Lewis is just right around the corner. I also feel at times that I am not in my body, but watching what is occurring from another location. I keep thinking about Lewis and what I would like to say to him. So much is going on and I cannot talk to him. My sounding post is gone. My companion for 50 years is gone. I am with friends and they are great, but I feel lost at times.

The Day of The Dead, (el Día de los Muertos) is currently being celebrated in Mexico. It is a holiday that celebrates the memory of your loved ones. It is a day to honor them. It is extremely festive, colorful and vibrant. There are parades and festivals. So many people from the city dress up in elaborate costumes for the occasion. People paint their faces. There are altars, called ofrendas, located all over the city to honor the dead. On these altars they put the person’s picture up, light candles, put out the dead persons favorite food that the deceased ate when they were alive plus all sorts of items that they think will entice their loved one’s souls to return to them. Some people also include on the altars; skulls, skeletons and some really weird stuff. Quite fascinating. Additionally, you will find all these colorful Paper Mache statutes located all over the city. They are of women, men, skeletons, horses, whimsical creatures and almost anything that one can imagine. It is amazing to see. I must say that it is a fascinating and fun time to be here in Mexico. It is also an appropriate time for me to be here in regards to Lewis. I shall honor him here now and always starting on the Day of the Dead.

I am traveling. I am doing so, because I know that Lewis would want me to travel. He would not want me to be sad. But most of all I am traveling to keep my mind active and to distract me from thinking about Lewis and also let’s not forget my chronic disease. That’s my Oncologist’s exact words. I was traveling with Lewis while I had Stage 4 Cancer and traveling worked for me. I had a life and a good life at that, even though I was ill. Sitting home since Lewis’ death did not and would not work for me. I need to be amongst people, friends, family and I need to travel. It is my coping mechanism. While traveling I am not thinking about all those things that can bring me down. I have somewhere to go, something to think about other than death and illness. I am not rolled up into a ball and hiding from the world. I will live, laugh, love and one day not cry.

Find something that works for you. Find something that gives you purpose, that brings a smile to your lips, something that you can become passionate about. But live, don’t waste one day. Our days no matter who we are, are numbered. So make the most of them.

Life is Not Merely Surviving!!!!!