Another Day

May has arrived with all its glory, accompanied by a memory of another tied with a violet ribbon of Deja vu.

At that point in time, a beautiful young lady was important in my life and I optimistically believed I was in hers.

We didn't spend a great deal of time together so I was hesitant to give a lecture although I disagreed with her confided pronouncement.

She told me of an older co worker's reaction to her edict that:

" When someone annoys you, sentence them to 30 days of silence."

Laughing, she continued: "And my friend said he had never heard of such a rule."

I looked at the lovely young woman and wondered where she had learned such a cruel indictment and knew I should tell her I totally agreed with her co worker's analysis.

But of course, I didn't and since she had already continued with another topic, it remained dormant in my memory bank until recently twenty decades later.

I am not quite certain what resurrected it, possibly the reality that "miles to go," is no longer applicable for me, but that is immaterial.

The young woman and I are no longer in contact, and I have no expectation or desire for it to resume.

I have been taught forgiveness is not only possible, but therapeutic. I have also learned I have no wish to reopen wounds that were so painful and doomed never to heal.

Rather it is wiser to indulge in the relationships that bring comfort with their love and I am blessed with many of those.

Yet I do dare to hope that her laughing pronouncement of inflicting silence on others never returns to haunt her as it does me.

And because we are both not only older and wiser, and more percipient, I wish I had known how one unforeseen day I would deeply regret I had not voiced an opinion and offered another viewpoint.

But that was long ago on another day in May.