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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Down to the Wire<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Marcia J. Wick<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>April 2023<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Word Count: 492<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>As a school girl, I recounted my sins in the confessional—I fought with my brothers and sisters six times, I disobeyed my parents nine times, I lied five times. Truth was, I padded the lies to account for under-counting the number of times I disobeyed my parents. Call it creative accounting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Over my lifetime, the times I disappointed my parents were too numerous to tally. A baby boomer, a rebel, a wanna-be hippie, I tested their patience and fortitude for decades. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The gravity of my transgressions escalated during high school. I confessed directly to God so the poor priest wouldn’t have to grapple with the future of my soul. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…I drank too much Boone’s Farm Apple wine and vomited behind a bush on school property; I smoked marijuana during our senior skip day-and liked it; I slept with my boyfriend, but I consulted Planned Parenthood before indulging.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Since God didn’t strike me down for my offenses, what my parents didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Once I reached adulthood, Mom and Dad were forced to endure my wrongdoings--retribution was beyond their reach. It pained them when I divorced two times and married again, the third time to a Jewish man who introduced me to Buddhism. Surely, I would burn in hell. My father prayed at our unconventional wedding to the Christian God on our behalf. Never one to hedge my bets, I figured it couldn’t hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Between marriages and moves across the country, the distance between our viewpoints widened. When we reconnected for holidays or family reunions, our spirited debates sparked heated disagreements. Words regretted couldn’t be recalled. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Dad and Mom lived well into their nineties, none the worse for wear. Forgiveness and forgetfulness settled the dust from stormy days. Water muddied by tears ran clear under the bridge spanning time. Diminished vision and dementia softened the sharp edges. Ultimately, happy memories rose to the top like champagne bubbles to blunt the pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Reconciliation, after decades of wrongdoing, came down to the wire. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>My mother took a fall and suffered a head injury. For three weeks, her health declined while her family resisted the reality that she wouldn’t recover. Of course, we all hoped for a miracle. Alone at her hospital bedside, I promised Mom we would cease interventions and bring her home under hospice care. Promise kept. Hours later, she succumbed in comfort at home with our dear old Dad by her side.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>When Dad’s hour came, his bedroom was over-crowded with children and grandchildren, clergy, caregivers, and neighbors. When the volume of voices in denial became intrusive, I suggested the vigil migrate to the living room. Kneeling by Dad’s bedside with only the hospice nurse as a witness, I held my father’s hand. Thank you, he seemed to whisper as he sighed his final breath in peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Despite a lifetime of remorse, I managed to redeem myself at the end.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:200%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'># # #<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>