The Truth Around Us

The truth is all around us. At times it is just hiding there in plain sight. But we often don't see it. Our eyes get caught up with a quick movement or a shiny bling or a bright color. We don't give our minds the time or space to simply be in reality. That is where the truth is - in reality. 

My wife and I attended a small birthday celebration recently for one of our precious clients, Crystal, who turned 100 on February 22 (2026). She can no longer walk herself after a fall and some broken bones. She is thin and frail. Her hair is nothing like it used to be, with just whisps of it remaining in gray and silver. She doesn't have much strength left in her grasp. 

She remembered us, as we're the ones who brought some beautiful color into her home over the past decade or so. We first worked for her in August 2013, when we painted her wheelchair ramp and porch a light sky blue. Her husband was still alive then, but had recently taken residence in a nursing facility. He passed in 2017, only months before his 100th birthday. 

Over the next few years, we removed some wallpaper, fixed some walls, painted over some wood paneling, and dressed up her south-facing sunroom-porch, where she loved to sit and soak up sun or listen to the rain. Her kitchen became a sort of statement in bright green - her choice, and she loved it! And when we went to paint her bedroom, in 2021, when she was turning only 95, she had already removed everything from her bedroom including the furniture - all but the bed. She was so excited! 

We last painted for her in 2023, when we finished painting her living room after removing some offensive wallpaper that she couldn't wait to see gone! She was then 97, and she had outlived Lexie, her Shetland sheepdog who would protect her and warn her of the mailman and other such dangers like the handyman. We finally hung some family pictures that meant so much to her. She would recount the memories that popped into her thoughts as she soared back through the years in her mind. 

I made her several heart-shaped cakes for her birthday a couple of those years, with it being so close to Valentine's Day. This year she got some of my homemade fudge, simple, delicious, with no nuts this time. It was nice to meet her kids, now in their 70s like me. It was special in a way because she was nearly the same age as my wife's mom Jeri, and my mom Bonnalee, who were both born a year ahead of Crystal in 1925. What a long time ago. 

This reminds me of a couple of songs. One is by Simon and Garfunkel - the 59th Street Bridge. 

"Slow down, you move too fast, you've got to make the morning last, just

kickin' down the cobblestones, lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy…"

The other song is Same Girl, by Twila Paris. You should search for it and listen to it. Here are the lyrics. 

Picture with me if you can
A little girl in a younger land
Running, playing, laughing
Growing stronger
Now the aging limbs have failed
And the rosy cheeks are paled
Look behind the lines till you remember

She's still the same girl
Flying down the hill
She's still the same girl
Memories vivid still
Listen to her story
And her eyes will glow
She's still the same girl
And she needs you so

Picture with me if you will
A long white dress and a wedding veil
Two young dreamers pledge their love together
Now her lifelong friend is gone
And she spends her days alone
Look behind the lines till you remember

She's still the same girl
Walking down the aisle
She's still the same girl
With the shining smile
Listen to her story
And her eyes will glow
She's still the same girl
Same girl
She's still the same girl
Wiser for the years
She's still the same girl
Stronger for the tears
Listen to her story
And your heart will glow
She's still the same girl
And we need her so
She's still the same girl
And she needs you so

Crystal had beautiful flowers all over her yard, especially lilies. Well into her 90s, she would still go out and pull the weeds out of her flower beds. She lived in that simple, rustic home for around 75 years. Without her in it, and with her needing to live elsewhere of necessity, the family recently sold it, and it was torn down last week. Bulldozed. All the memories, all our paint jobs, all the flower gardens…gone. It was just a shell without Crystal there in it. It served its purpose as her shelter, her domain, a gathering place for her family.

The point of this story? I'm not sure. Simply enjoy wherever you are. Make the most of it. Take care of it. And treasure life. Don't make things too complicated or busy. 

God Bless You All!