Radiance

The past few days I have been flooded with loving emails.

Photos of my great nephew whose sturdy body and laughing eyes fill me with memories of his grandpa, my brother. Alexander at four months is already nineteen pounds of extraordinary joy.

Photos of my Muse, whose cerulean blue eyes and sweet smile come leaping across the miles, along with a note that he heard my birthday message only minutes after I sent it, fill me with delight.

Words sent from my daughter-of-the-heart tell me how she is still overcome with awe by the musical ability of her husband, my son, the public defender, even after ten years together. She tells me they bought a used piano and “He just sits down and makes up songs or plays one by ear that is on the radio. It’s insane. But very fun at breakfast.”

Pictures and names of other beguiling newborns whose lives brighten mine and the obvious love that two people I admire very much have for each other, all come together to brighten my world, filling it with a radiance that is hard to describe.

None of these are unexpected. One of my son’s degrees is as a classical performer and he was a gifted musician from the start. My brother’s children led to expectations of gorgeous grandchildren. My Muse is an extraordinary young man in every respect and to see unbridled joy radiating from him is not really unusual. Honest to god, real Lovers are beyond beautiful in any setting.

Still, to have all of these descend upon me in such a short time is a gift that leaves me reeling. I am surrounded by the radiance of love in its purest and sweetest forms and I am grateful.