Twenty in 2020 | Maya's Gifts

Twenty in 2020

There is something significant about today.  Yes, 2020 is a new decade for us all.  September 1, 2020 is Maya’s 20th birthday.  While I generally know how to express myself, it seems like there is a word I cannot put my finger on in the English language.  I am experiencing a paradox around time.  There is something about time being frozen and time moving on, concurrently.  Maya’s life in her human form stopped at age 15 years old.  Yet, we continue and time passes. 

I am likely not alone in having things in my possession that are long past their due.  In our case, there has been a container of Umeboshi Plum Paste in the refrigerator for a very long time.  It never goes bad, and we would only use a little bit of it at time.  Maya, with her clever sense of humor, once put a label on the container, “Immortal Paste.”  In an odd way, there is comfort for me to keep this container.

The loosestrife still blooms on September 1.  We eat luscious peaches and pick raspberries.  The nights are beginning to get a bit cooler, as they always have during this time.  Happy birthday, Maya.  We love you always and miss you deeply.


44 Comments

    • Dear Jesse,
      It’s funny, I am not sure why we keep it. I’m also not sure why I chose to share about it today. I think you just helped me with that.
      Thanks and love,
      Elise

  • Very touching and very deep. Yes, she is gone but you guys are doing amazing jobs appearing love and awareness.

    • Dear Dinesh,
      Thank you for your kind words. I sincerely appreciate your role in the work we do in Maya’s name.
      Love to you and all at HCC,
      Elise

  • Poignant, loving, real, vulnerable, strength, beauty, acknowledging, depth, honoring, paradoxes, living fully. Thank you, Elise, for sharing your inspiring thoughts and feelings.

    • Thank you Cindy, for naming all that touched you about this post, my thoughts and feelings.
      Sending love,
      Elise
      💕

  • I love that you’ve kept this reminder of a day to day, and pithy connection. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

    I’m so constantly inspired by you and your full expression of the spectrum and rainbow of life. You are present with your joy and your pain, and the day to day wonders of life.

    It is a blessing to witness life with you. Love to you. Love to Matt. Love to Maya (who I never knew) on the other side of the veil.

  • Maya’s handwriting, so everyday- as it was suppossed to be, and Maya, not being here, in-person, as that was not supposed to be. That disconnect is very hard to understand…like time, it slows down, it speeds up, it seems to stop sometimes, it marches on, how many times, you likely wished you could go back in time to alter the course of events…Maya lives on in your heart, even as your family moves forward in the calendar year. It is said that as we make meaning from events in our lives comes peace, but I am not sure how a person makes meaning/sense out of such a deep longing to hold and hug a person whom you created and due to time, not be able to do so.You so clearly parallel the mystery of the vividness of the past and current days, each being real and sometimes a little unreal. Thank you for continouly reminding us of the preciousness of the memories we create.

    • Dear Jean,
      It is as if my thoughts and feelings are flowing through your words. Seriously! Thank you for tuning in.
      xo, Elise

    • David, I appreciate your ongoing support, showing up and sharing your words. It means so much to me.
      Happy 20th Mayamoo!
      xo, “Mommymoo”

  • The “Immortal Paste” -Love, love, love! Holding us together, in these crazy times. Through all the loss and sadness, thankfully there is love and thankfully there are those like you willing to be vulnerable and share it. Sending you lots of love today and always Elise.
    Feliz Cumpleaños among the stars Maya❤️❤️

    • Wow, Lilly!
      I didn’t even think of the stickiness of the paste….holding us together.
      Thank you for that!
      Hmm. if you know umeboshi plum paste, you know it is sour. I wonder what the metaphor there is!
      Sending love back,
      Elise

  • We love you too, dear Elise, and we’re so glad you’re with us. So true, what you write about the dual nature of time.

    And the timeless, immortal nature of love,

    September 1st is my beloved grandmother’s yarzheit. She was the only source of maternal love in my childhood. Yesterday marked 35 years since she passed. The thought of her still brings tears to my eyes.

    Time is also a great leveler.

    Keep living the mystery, day by day. It’s all any of us can do.

    Surrounding you with love.

    • Yes, time and the immortal nature of love.
      I am glad for your grandmother. What a blessing that she was a source of maternal love. I am sorry for your loss. Wow, 35 years. Sometimes time can be a big blur, can’t it?
      I am grateful to feel your love, Yael.
      xox, Elise

    • Yes, Fran!
      What a sweet joker! There are times even now, that I feel that Maya is playing little jokes on me. I cherish them all.
      xo, Elise

  • So eloquent, Elise, in describing the paradox of loss and love…remembering Maya brings me joy as I recall her and sorrow at her absence. Much much love,
    Rabbi Jonathan

    • It is so fascinating, isn’t it Rabbi Jonathan?
      You have offered such help, guidance, wisdom and tender support in helping me then and helping me now with these paradoxes.
      Forever grateful,
      xo Elise

  • I am grateful for the immortal plum paste. I am grateful for the love we can all share, gifted to us by our immortal Maya. Hugging you and Mathew.

  • I have been thinking about Maya often the past few days!
    This Immortal Paste is a bright light concept- that moves me greatly!
    Thanks for sharing the stories!
    I love you, Elise!
    Be well, in light and love!
    Elayne

    • Yes, Elayne, to the bright and light!
      I am glad you are moved. She would crack me up, and continues to crack me up. Laughter, tears, tears of sadness, joy, all of it.
      Love and light to you,
      Elise

  • What a beautiful post, Elise.
    I experience it as an honoring of Maya.
    Your love for Maya and her for you Mathew and Adin is IMMORTAL.
    Sending you all my love endlessly,
    Lucy

  • Elise,
    Ellen bought a package of Umeboshi plums a couple of years ago which go uneaten, and she keeps telling me they’re OK when I remind her about them. I see this package a few times a week.
    Thank you for both the education on umeboshi, and for the connection between it and Maya. I will now think of her whenever I see the package.
    Much love and hugs,
    Gene

    • Ah ha! I am not the only one with this in my fridge! I am in good company!
      I hope that you will have a chuckle now, when you see your container of “Immortal Paste”, or maybe a tender moment.
      One of these days, I’ll share a recipe with you, and perhaps we can have a taste of that paste together.
      xo, Elise

  • Thank you for this beautiful post Elise. May we all bask in the Immortal Paste. Happy Birthday Maya. Love to you and your family forever and always.

  • Time has a way……………………
    So hard to comprehend that Maya would have become 20 as she will always be 15.
    Remembering the special child she was. A blessing.

    • Yes, Deborah, I know!
      One time that it hits me, is when I get together with Maya’s friends. They’ve grown. They are not 15 any longer. So mature, and full of hope, vision and action.
      And yes, a true blessing.
      xo, Elise

  • The “immortal paste” forever binding the love between you and Maya. Sending so much love!💜
    PS: I hope your were able to plant the bleeding heart tubers for Maya’s birthday❣️

    • I love that image, Lynn! Yes, the connection is strong and immortal.

      Half of the bleeding heart was planted! I went at it, into the dark of the night! The rest will be planted soon. When they bloom, they will hold a special sweetness. What a gift, thank you so much!

      ❣❣❣❣❣❣❣

  • Happy 20 th Birthday Maya. I visit you at your resting place each September and all is calm there. Love, Ellen.

  • On Maya’s twentieth birthday, September 1, while walking at Mohonk, a cloud of what seemed to be yellow birch leaves swirled in front of me. As they drifted down they turned into tiny yellow goldfinches that swooped in undulating flights that seemed so joyful.
    “A visit from Maya to the world”, I thought.
    And yesterday, again at Mohonk, as I thought of the day she left us, golden leaves lay on the path, a shining pool of light. Thank you, Maya. We miss you.

    • Sweet messages from our Maya. She comes to us in many beautiful ways. I am so glad to hear of these gifts. Leslie, your connection with Maya went deep, from your presence at her birth, until she left us. And it continues. Your openness makes it possible for you to witness these treasures.
      xo

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