On Thursday, November 1, my friend Mary died as gently as she had lived. Her beloved family (of blood & choice) was with her the last days of her life. But her daughter Beth realized that her mother needed to be alone for the final act of letting go. So, early Thursday morning, everyone left Mary's bedside--even left the house--and Mary soon released her grasp on life and passed into another sphere. Five hours later, in Seattle, Washington, my niece Gretchen and her husband Matt celebrated the birth of their first child, a little girl they named Madalyn. And the cycle continues...

In response to my photo blog entry for Thursday, my dear PBase friend Ai Li sent me a message privately. I am grateful she has agreed to let me share her words here. Ai Li writes, "Life meets, life leaves. Life takes, life gives. Life doubts, life believes. Life dreams, life wakes. Life remembers, life fades. Life loves, life hates. Life quits, life tries. Life lives, life dies. Life laughs, life cries... Life is indeed a riddle that no one has understood, because no one knows what tomorrow holds... How will it be today? We are alive this moment, yet we know not for how long. There is much happiness in one moment, while just the next, carries so much grief. And so, life remains an unsolved riddle..."