I know that La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmarte is considered by many an overcrowded, over-rated tourist spot. Obviously, since I purchased a tacky cardboard music box there I do not share those sentiments (back off: it spoke to me... specifically: Bonjour, American Tourist, please buy me too, while you're buying your authentic made-in-China berets... ). Some things can be smothered in thick cliche, and still be viable.
My heart had a break this morning. Do you believe me, or does it come off as too much? I'm not sure how else to say it. I learned that I made a sweet little boy cry.
The law of unintended consequences.
This morning I read an email from the mother of my son's best friend from school. She said that last night they heard their boy crying in his bedroom because my son wouldn't be at school this year. His parents comforted him and told him that it was okay to be sad, and that we would try to coordinate a lot of together time.
The thing is that this boy isn't spoiled in any way. This wasn't the crying of a child who always gets what he wants and is upset that his plans have been ruined. He is sweet and gentle and respectful. His heart was hurt.
I have been given the sacred reminder that our year will impact more than just us. We really are on this journey together. In a past life I was serving drinks on an airplane. It was twilight beyond the windows. A passenger was chatting with me while I scooped ice. He found out I was starting graduate school in the fall, but didn't really know what I was doing with my life. He was starting theology school, and hoped that he knew what he was doing. He asked if I had read Frederick Buechner; I had not. When he got off the plane he handed me the Buechner book he had been reading with a note written inside wishing me luck. That was fifteen years ago, and there are passages from that book that come into my mind daily. We make contacts; we change the course of each others' lives; we touch our quivering hearts.
My reminder: don't bemoan the swarm crowding the steps of Sacre Coeur... or the sidewalks of Manhattan. There are people in those crowds that will touch our lives. Walk gently; touch, but don't shove; understand that we will break hearts even when we don't intend to...
