Home is created by a series of decisions, which shape our surrounding space. Just like our decisions in life shape the path that we walk on. Smooth sailing for some, a rocky path for others. What is the recipe for living a “great story” and who defines “great”, anyway?
St. Paul de Vence, in the South of France. At lunch, I randomly connect with two strangers at the table next to me: the widow of a German painter whose name I’ve never heard of before, and the gallery lady who sells his work. Travelers of the world, the three of us. After our mutually inspirational encounter, we say goodbye. I do the obligatory tourist walk in town. They do what they do. On my tour, I step into a gallery. Who happens to be inside? The gallery lady and her friend. They show me the late painter’s work. Like the art of old masters, it is fascinatingly elaborate, intelligent and mystical. He excelled in multiple techniques that magically overlap. His art pulls me right in. We spend an hour on some small pieces, discussing them, speaking the same language. Then, I get ready to leave.
The gallery lady says, wait. She locks the door and asks me upstairs. Darkness. She turns on the light. There it is: the space with the grand pieces. The really grand stuff. The real thing. A cathedral of art, sculptures, paintings. She turns another switch, spotlighting the grandest of all in the room: 4 by 3 meters, the biggest painting by the mystical German artist. His masterpiece. This one hits me like lightning. Without warning, I am flushed with tears, can’t stop crying. The gallery lady looks at me, tears in her eyes as well. She says, “I knew you’d understand. This is why I have dedicated my life to art. A tough path but there is no other life once you’ve tasted it. It’s a decision. There are easier ways to live. But THIS is a truly blessed life.” On that day, I fall asleep thinking about the decisions I have made in life so far.
At 31, Rosie hasn’t given birth yet. Still, she is pregnant for the third time. The first two embryos have died inside of her, stuck on their way from the ovaries into the uterus. In those days, the 1960s, when the egg got stuck in the Fallopian tube, the whole thing was taken out, leaving only the remaining tube to enable the passage of a new life. Rosie wants a baby more than anything else. As the second pregnancy turns out to be stuck, just like the first, she begs the surgeon to save the tube. He does. It is his masterpiece.
To make things a bit more challenging during her third pregnancy, Rosie is still recovering from tuberculosis. This time, the path for the child is open. The embryo makes it to the uterus. But the doctors advise her to abort, with pregnancy being too risky, giving birth too much strain on the body. No way. Rosie ist determined. She wants this child. Having been a war orphan at only 13, always longing for a family, she feels: This baby will be her “home”. The child’s father is absent. There is little support for her. She delivers a healthy baby girl. Against the odds. There would have been easier ways to live for both of them. But this is how Rosie lived her life. Making her decisions. Some good, some better. When she smiled, Rosie made the world a little brighter. In a way, and although it hardly ever looked like it, Rosie lived a masterpiece. Not an easy heritage for her daughter, but still: a great story. May you have found your way home, Rosie.
© Beate Brigid Schilcher 2021-07-24