Thursday, October 25, 2012

Mable and the Last Things



               I have been thinking about Mable this week.  I worked with her in the late 1970’s in a Stouffers Restaurant in Troy Michigan.  As a summer employee, I worked in the kitchen doing “cold prep”.  While I’m sure the job included more than this, I remember peeling mountains of shrimp each week, slicing dozens of red onions, mushrooms, and romaine lettuce. But what I remember most are the Fridays in my second summer, working alongside this octogenarian who had the most wonderful outlook on life.
              
               Mable had worked for decades as a baker for a variety of restaurants in the Stouffer’s chain.  Her husband had died many years before.  Each Friday and Saturday her work would fill the kitchen with the enticing smells of the most wonderful kind of sweets – tarts and cakes and pies.  These desserts were enjoyed by the guests who feasted at the Sunday brunch.
               
               I was drawn into a wonderful friendship with her, although there were 60 some years between us.  I learned very practical details about the precision of baking and the need to measure accurately. The most important lessons I learned dealt with how to age.  At 82 she was active, worked not for the money but because it gave a routine to her life.  Some weeks her back ached or her fingers were painful.  Rather than giving up her beloved baking, she knew that aches and pains were part of getting older.  She enjoyed each day that she lives. That fall she was going to Europe for four weeks and had found a grandchild to accompany her.  She was a believer in Christ and would not work on Sunday.
               
                Mable always comes to mind this time of year.  While the leaves are turning beautiful colors and you can hear a crunch under your feet when you walk over leaves that have already fallen, November is fast approaching.  I was reminded of this yesterday when I walked by a tree that has already shed its leaves.
               
               November is the month when the Catholic Church especially prays for the dead.  The focus in November is on the “last things” – dead, judgment, heaven, and hell.  This week, I made a list of the people in my life, who are no longer with us, for whom I want the Church to pray for in November.  Among those on the list are my parents and grandparents, a friend who died of cancer last June, a work colleague who died two years ago of heart complications and Mable. 
               
               After that summer, Mable and I saw each other occasionally when I came back to work in the kitchen during an especially busy time of year.  I never knew her last name or when she died, but I do hope to find her in heaven one day and let her know the important role she has played in my life.  She is my role model for aging gracefully and I am grateful that the Lord brought us together!
               

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