(no subject)

[winterbadger]

I really had to share this, because it was so lovely.

A bit of background: my mum decided some years ago that she was terrifically interested in Tibet and has been drawing wonderful pastel pictures of Tibetan people from photos for some many years now. A group of monks from one of the monasteries comes touring around the US every year, and she's made friends with several of the regulars, exchanges email regularly with them, and always gives them prints of her drawings to sell on their tour to raise money for the trip and for their monastery. I knew they were due soon, and today I got this email from her:

well good gracious, you never know! you just never know - what is going to happen next!
I went down to Hampton this AM, not feeling all that chipper, as it's still deadly hot, thinking to myself, either Tenzin will be there again, in which case I will br very happy and hang out for a while, OR, he will not be there, and all the monks won't be people I know, and I will leave the pix and come home.....so KFS left me at the theater at 10:30 am - the monks, it turned out, wouldnt'arrive until 2. , so KFS went off to get some pedestals from BSG - and called up 1/2 hour later and said he was unaccountably in downtown Norfolk, because a policeman would not let him turn where he wanted to.......and my library book was in the car.... luckil;y for me, the theater cat, whose name you may remember is Lisa Minelli,
decided I was a good chin-scratcher, and besides, I had a lot of yummy PLASTIC....we had quite a disagreement about that - no ill-will, however- and eventually KFS came back. By then, I had had a chance to talk to Michael about who came this year. and had decided that altho Tenzin was NOT there, some other friends were, and I had better stay until 2.....so we went and got a sandwich, whch we went and ate at the gallery, and went back.... just as I was getting my hands into the right position for greeting friends, there was a flurry of maroon robes, and we were engulfed in HUGE HUGS! ...unheard-of - NEVER seen a monk touch anyone!....and it went ON in the same manner: I had to hang around while they unpacked at least some of their stuff, all during which the OTHER monks, meaning the 5 or 6 I didn't know, appeared. looked at the pix, grinned and pointed at the portrait ones, bowed and scraped, and were overwhelmingly kind (in Tibetan, of course..but you could TELL that what they were saying was complimentary)....after a while, I felt a tap on my shoulder ( as different from MANY PATTINGS!) and we were summmoned to the lobby where an elaborate presentation was made, with ENDLESS beautiful compliments about all I had done for them, and how grateful, etc., etc.,...I managed not to let any tears actually DRIP, but I really was overwhelmed, as we were presented with gorgeous white brocade katas, 10 or 12 feet long, with the auspicious symbols woven into their fabric... WOW!!!!!!
as well as more shirts, etc...and a couple of the things I tried to buy I wasn't allowed to pay for......

so you see what I mean by "never know what may happen!"...it's kind of like being knighted by the Queen, except that it ISN'T, because this is all so intensely PERSONAL! what a thrilling day in my life!
AREN'T I THE LUCKY ONE?????? love to all, Mum

That's so lovely! I am so glad that she and they have each in their own way helped to make each other so happy. Being appreciated for what she does for other people is the one thing that gets through my mother's armour of self-abnegation; I'm so glad that they did that!

Comments

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

oh that was nice for her :0)

[shy-kat.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's very cool!

[azbound.livejournal.com]

So much infinitely better than meeting Tim Russert. And you *know* how I love Tim Russert.

[winterbadger]

Indeed I do!

[winterbadger]

And it's such a wonderful slice of my mother too. Yeah, mum, I had no idea the theater even had a cat, let alone what it's name was. :-)

[redactrice.livejournal.com]

That's great. The wonderful thing about your mom's writing is that one can see and hear her so clearly in it. I can almost visualize all of that.

I'm so glad when something good happens to her, letting a little light into the grayness that her life seems like sometimes.

A nifty early birthday present for her.

[winterbadger]

Absolutely! Agreed on all counts.