V Formation

The gentle raindrops fell from a heavy grey sky. It’s felt like the radical weather change had arrived to signal a departure.

And indeed it had. Gone were the cool sunny morning walks and the wonderful laughter filled sun light afternoons spent on the deck or playing bocce. The chairs around the evening fire pit now glistened with the drops.

And so it ended…a week together with my twisted soul sisters. The final hugs tight and prolonged, tears near the surface. Time together seems so precious and it’s now over.

It’s been 15 months since our last meeting, cancer making it more precious and Covid making us more careful. The intervening time hasn’t seemed a lot kinder with 1 having to battle cancer again, another facing some serious health issues after her cancer and a third having some simingly undiagnosable health issues.

The true story of why geese fly in that iconic V formation seems very fitting here. In an echelon geese benefit greatly from air draft and a reduction in energy spent individually as they traverse great distances. The geese at the rear honk to encourage those at the front and when the lead goose tires it falls to the back and another goose takes its place. The lifting power of the gaggle allows for a whooping 71% greater efficiency than striking out alone. But, and this is huge, when a goose is sick or injured 2 other geese drop out of formation with it. They protect it and remain with it till it’s health either improves or it dies. Then they set out together to rejoin a flock.

Just a small aside as food for thought.

There was talk about conscious aging, wills and binders of info for families left behind. Discussions about funerals and nursing honour guards and an assortment of topics that even 10 years ago would have seemed morbid, never mind 45 years years ago when we met as baby nurses in training.

And now, well, now we know that life, our own lives, are truly just fleeting moments and that ordinary moments together are truly extraordinary. That laughter love and loss are part of the journey. That there are no guarantees of how many trips around the sun any of us get, even if we pack a lunch.

Which makes each and every gathering so incredibly precious.

Bernie