Dona Nobis Pacem

A little over 20 years ago, a day or so after my mother's funeral, my father, my aunt (mom's sister) and her daughter, my one year old daughter and myself, were sitting out in front of dad's house. Cait was in a stroller. It was August in Kansas, but not at all unpleasant. As we sat there talking, a hymn/round rose up. Dona Nobis Pacem. We had all learned it as children.
In the evening air, the music blended with the sounds of passersby, birds, insects...
A sense of peace came over us all.
I remember the look of absolute contentment on my young daughter's face as she listened. I remember my cousin simply saying "Lovely".
A moment as clear now as it was then.
Fast forward to last year. I had signed the papers to put my father in a hospice right at Christmas. Had sat on the side of his bed to explain why.
For a moment, I left the hospital to get a breath of air and coffee to clear my mind. On impulse I picked up a YoYo Ma cd for the season. Popped it into the car stereo and out came a beautiful rendition of Dona Nobis Pacem. As I sat there in the parking lot of the hospital listening, that same sense of peace came over me.
I play that now. Not because of a time of duress. I play it just to center me. I sing it to my grandson and to myself.
The peace is there.
It is here.