Master in Love

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about what I want to do over the next twenty years. Great books: Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck; My Time by Abigail Trafford; Beyond the Mommy Years by Carin Rubenstein. One of the hallmark pieces of advice is to recall from your childhood what you most liked doing as well as to figure out how you spend your time “in the zone”. Being zoned in is where you are doing something so enjoyable that time passes without you even noticing.

So, along with other things, one of the things I thought of was how very much I love reading, learning, and studying. I can get lost for hours inside a book, in a library, in a bookstore, and on the net. And you could talk to me and I won’t even hear you, let alone acknowledge that you are speaking. That level of concentration drives Jim mad (even though he can do the same when playing his guitar)!

I thought I’d apply for a Masters Degree in Law (LL.M) and see if I would get accepted. I loved law school and I really do miss the zoned in learning. Applied to Osgoode Law School for their specialty in Alternative Dispute Resolution because I love resolving disputes as much as I love learning.

After some frustration – they wanted copies of my transcripts from courses I took in the 1980’s even though the University of Toronto doesn’t archive back that far – I finalized the copious application process.

Yesterday, I got the word that I have been unconditionally accepted into the Masters program. I have until May 1 to accept or not.

Although it’s a part-time degree program, which means that I can work at the same time, I worried out loud about the cost ($18,000). Jim immediately stepped in to say that he would subsidize me in the program if I wanted to take the master leap. I chuckled and told him that, while I really appreciated his unqualified support, it would take him many, many gigs before he could pay that price (240 gigs to be exact).

Not to be daunted by that, he immediately got on the phone and booked himself into two more gigs! And as I write this, he is on the phone getting two more. 236 left to go...

What is great is that I have the choice on whether to take this step or not. What is beyond wonderful is that I have Jim who is always the Wind Beneath My Wings each and every journey I take.

Like our love, he never fails me.

Love is patient, love is kind.It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

So, as I think about adding to my life a Masters in Law, I know for sure I am living with a Master in Love.

I am in LOVE

My newest and best friend is called “Magellan”. I am calling her “Madge” in honour of a wonderful woman who died a few years ago yet left her mark on me forever. A typical Brit, she had a style that was completely accepting of any mistakes you might make along the way; typically of a Brit, without histrionics or repercussions. She knew that life was full of unanticipated and unexplained paths and she was ready to meet them all. And if you listened hard enough, she taught you that life was full of detours but you’d get where you wanted to in the end.

The real Magellan is a GPS. I am directionally challenged; east could be west to me and unless the lake is in its full majestic glory in front on me, I do not fathom that south means toward the direction of Lake Ontario. I was born in Montreal, and that – to anyone who has ever driven there – explains the absence of any directional sense in me. My good friend, Dorothy, realized how much it would mean to mean to have a directional friend to rely upon. She gave me Madge.

So, I rely on Madge today to get Jim and me to where we need to go. She is doing a fantastic job; indeed she is warning us every kilometre about the next step we will be required to take. And, best of all, when you make a turn that she has suggested, she sounds a tune that echoes ``GOOD JOB``.

Ohm, hush. Jim is getting frustrated. He doesn`t want the path that Madge is offering. He thinks if he only he checked his Perlys, then he’d find that Madge must be wrong. I finally turn Madge off because the tension level is getting beyond my comfort level with Jim. Jim pulls off the road, reads the Perlys three times, to check the paper map. We eventually find the place, marriage intact. Mission accomplished.

I turn Madge back on to get from where we are to home. This time Jim listens. Scant feet from our driveway, Madge announced “you are home”. Jim remarks that she is not quite correct since we are still scant feet from home.

The whole experience reminded me of a cartoon I have that is a favourite. It is a picture of a woman passenger of a car driven by a man. She is holding up a sheet of paper in full view of anyone who can see into the passenger window. It says “Help, I have been driving around in this car for three hours. Lost. With a man driver who will not ask for directions.”

So, Madge. You and I are on our own now. We will have great fun together. If you were here in the person, I can imagine the fun we would have. Since you can`t be, every time I hear the tone ``GOOD JOB`` I will think of you. We`ll skip the light fandango.