Easter Mourning.

This Easter has been different.

Starting with Good Friday's visit with Miss Nina, this Easter has been about visiting with people in long-term crisis.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my friend and her husband. She is 7 months pregnant and her mother is in the hospital with complications from ovarian cancer.

We started the day by making brunch: french toast and berry compote. Then we put the first coat of paint on the room that was to be the nursery and now will welcome Miss Ayeisha if she leaves the hospital.

We also played Karaoke Revolution on the XBox. My friend blew her husband and I out of the water! She has such a beautiful voice. Even when we tried to level the playing field - by choosing songs she didn't know and making the judging harder, she still was amazing. Clearly there are very few things that challenge her voice.

Finally we went to the hospital to be with Miss Ayeisha. She was having trouble talking because of the tube down her throat, but was still glowing with positivity. There was a wonderful rotation of characters: a Catholic priest that sang "Hail Mary," an artist friend that arranged for a special healer in Hawaii to do intuitive healing over the phone, another healer came as I was leaving to go put on the second coat of paint in the nursery/office/guest room, and a sweet nurse that explained her last-minute Easter schedule as meant-to-be because of the special, wonderful energy that is Miss Ayeisha.

I feel like days like yesterday are rare. I laughed and sang. I taped, scraped, and painted. I prayed and meditated. And I sent all the energy I could to everyone else around me.

I woke up several times last night dreaming about them all. The priest who sang, Miss Ayeisha who whispered and alternated her smiles and her grimaces, and my friend and her husband who played with the baby - just a little skin and flesh separating their games.

Today I am tired. I'm longing to have someone just sit with me and relax. I need some of my energy back because I know there is more to come. It will only get more intense from here for them.

I think I'll just sit here for a minute and imagine some warmth. Some long arms wrapped around me. A whisper of encouragement before the next thing comes.