Autumn

My autumn rose

Another week has ended, another month will end in 7 days. The year has almost reached its end. I'm glad it'll be over. It's been a very difficult year for me. A year ago this month our loyal and hardworking manager Katie died, within days of a good friend and colleague journalist Lourdinha and our parish choir mistress Mrs. Sabbara. A few months later another good friend and student whom I tutored also died. Then I lost my health, my mobility, my independence as I rely on people to do things for me now. Because I was sick, I lost my job. And I lost my mum. Everything crashed in 10 months.

It's autumn. Everything dies. Trees are turning brown and yellow, leaves are falling. All the summer flowers have shrivelled and are dying back. The autumn harvest is ending and the fruit trees will be severely pruned to prevent lost of water in this drought. My roses are throwing out their last blooms before they become bare stems. It's a season to die.

I just hope winter is the silent promise that new life is promised in Spring.

Chilly weather

1st public Mass

Time flies so quickly. It's already almost the end of October and 2025 is slipping away. It's unbelievable. The sun is rising later at 5.30am and sets earlier. And it's much cooler. Nights are 16 degrees and daytime 26 degrees. It's pleasant but it can feel chilly indoors. Winter is approaching.

However there's no sign of rain which we desperately need. The morning dew is rather heavy and the ground is very wet, but it's not enough to sustain us for the next summer. Let's hope the rains will eventually come.

Despite the ceasefire, fighter jets continue to roar over our heads in the early mornings; drones buzzing overhead and soldiers everywhere. These few days it's even more tense as the US delegation is in the Old City - Vance and Kushner.  Arab farmers are prevented from harvesting their olives. The situation is deplorable. The signs of poverty is everywhere and people keep coming and asking for help.

I managed to celebrate my 1st public Mass last Sunday.  It was tiring but luckily I had 2 Indian deacons to help me. 5 other priests - all our MA and PhD students - joined me. Several nuns from convents in Jerusalem came also. It was a nice celebration. It's slowly getting back to normal routine. Except I'm much slower and clumsier. I drop things and shuffle as I'm afraid to fall. That's why having deacons with me is important.

Mid-autumn

Sunrise

 The full moon was just 4 days ago ... our Chinese mind-autumn festival and the Jewish feast of Sukkot. The air crisp and the days are much cooler ... not going beyond 26 degrees. Evenings go down to 21 degrees. And dark rain clouds are overhead for 2 days now. It also drizzled several times. Time to get my hoodie jackets out.

Like all autumns, the sunrises and sunsets here are amazing. And you see flocks of European birds migrating south to Africa during this period. The summer flowers have died out and autumn fruit are ripening. The markets are full of fruit. Beautiful colours of grapes, peaches, figs, dates and especially pomegranates. 

Zinnias

My left leg continues to be swollen and now there's a danger of developing thrombosis. I have to wear compression socks to prevent it. There's a weakness and lethargy that I fear might be due to anaemia (again) so yesterday I went back to my insurance clinic to do a blood test. Will have to wait for the results next week. Dr. Dima saw me as my regular Dr. Thaer was not on schedule. She explained why the leg was swollen and that it might take another 3 months for my heart and legs to get used to changes. Each person's body reacts differently; some faster some slower. My operation was particularly complicated so she said it's normal to take a longer time to heal. I was told that after my surgery I was rushed to ICU immediately instead of being wheeled out to the family in the waiting room. My superiors and students were waiting for an hour before they asked and were told I was rushed to ICU.