Judy’s Gift

Three years ago,  soon after my friend Judy died,  I wrote about her special grace and her amazing generosity of spirit.  (See My Ducky Friend,  June 3, 2015)

Judy also had a wonderful artistic sensibility.  She once gave me an unusual, hand-painted wind chime that had been crafted from an empty wine bottle.  A cooper disk hung inside that was designed  to hit the glass when the wind chime swayed in the breeze.

But it was such a lovely thing and seemed so fragile that I decided to display it indoors instead.  I put it on our bookshelf  and,  as I realize now,  I did so without looking at it very closely.

Recently on an impulse I decided to take it down and hang it out-of-doors where it really belonged.  I took it from the shelf,  turned it  in my hand to admire it once again,   and my heart stopped.

I saw something I hadn’t noticed before.   The image of a black cat was painted on one side of the bottle – on the side that had faced the wall all those years.   Judy well remembered our pet Smokey and she knew how much we had loved our beautiful black cat.

Ah Judy,  you never stop giving,  do you?

Dana Susan Lehrman

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