Mitzvah (Commandment/Blessing)

Mitzvah (Commandment/Blessing) by Stu Mendelson (the picture is cropped----the actual piece is an arch shaped piece of wood, with color and texture applied.  Leather trim.  !2" w., 15" h, 4 lbs.

Well, I think my ears have finally stopped ringing after hitting the wall as hard as I did. Like one of those cartoon characters that smashes head-on into something and slowly turns into fragments that pause for a second before they fall to the ground with a pitiful tinkling sound.   And then, miraculously, in the next frame, the character is back together again.  Ready to re-group and discover what's next.

So I've been taking stock.

Life is, apparently, not going to be about taking care of Stu's needs.   Other people who are better equipped are in place for doing that.

How novel.

But because I couldn't see that before, I have left my bakery business on the back burner, wanting to be confident that I could serve customers well if I'm going to bake for them.  I have some regular clients who call in an order as needed, (you are welcome to join them!  I do love to bake for people)  but the tempo is slow and deliberate.  No push to get ready for the weekend, no pressure.  And I am finding that I really enjoy that.  Time to visit with the person who ordered the wholewheat bread or scones, time to have coffee with a friend, time to sit down and write this blog.  It's relaxed.

And now that I do see it, I sense a need to move in a different direction.  I heard an interview with Barbara Walters the other day, describing the transition from one occupation to the next, and how one needs to be able to say "I've done that" .  Meaning "I don't have to keep doing it.  I don't have to do it again."

I seem to be getting a lot of feedback about this blog, encouragement to "do something with my writing", as people seem to put it.   But when I hit that wall, one of the questions several of the fragments on the pavement seemed to be asking is "It's called STROKE of Genius.  If it's not about the stroke,  how can you continue?"  (I never said I was bright.......give me a minute)

So now that my ears aren't ringing any more, I'm realizing that although the blog was birthed out of the trial of Stu's stroke, it's never really been about the illness.  Has it?  It's been about one woman's response to something that shook her world.  And because that's something that has to happen to all of us at some point, it resonates.  Doesn't it?  It's my story------and I realized today as I was working on a bagel order that there's lots more to tell.  I think I need to start way back at the beginning of our relationship.   It's a long story-----I remember once trying to tell a condensed version to a dear lady who wanted to hear how I became a Christian, and I will never forget the look on her face (polite shock, maybe)  as I launched into the strange and quirky details.  She was a very nice lady, and my story is NOT very nice.  But it does say a lot about how God redeems seriously messy, sinful people.   So stay tuned.  I will probably be allowing ads on my blog, since you can earn income that way-----I've been doing my homework.  And I will also be showing Stu's art in a more purposeful way, with dimensions and prices if you are interested.  But, income or no, I think it's a story worth recording.  Looking forward to the weeks to come!

Next time:  Free Spirit meets Paradoxical Jewish Guy.  Oy vay.