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Excerpt from "Legacy of Letters"

Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.
It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.
It is the journey to find yourself.
– Katherine Sharp –

Prologue January 1, 1986
Orlando, Florida

Dear Diary,
I often feel as if I am on a journey with no destination, simply stumbling along an endless, winding road, zigzagging among the forks. It’s terribly scary, always wondering which path to take, which will be the right one this time.

In August I’ll turn 54 although I look in the mirror and still see the soul of a fresh-faced young Pat on the brink of life’s adventure. What happened to all the time? I’m hoping this year I’ll find new direction and the fulfillment of some of my dreams. Life is such a mystery … do other people have this deep longing to understand the unfolding of their lives?

What I can figure out so far is that this gift of life seems to carry with it an implied agreement to be involved in a series of learning experiences. A process of soaring through the ups and surviving the downs. Of searching for ways to gain more love, to give purer love, and to feel an ever-deepening connection to our world.

There are times when joy reigns supreme. It could happen on any day, feeling a joie de vivre for no particular reason. Or during happy celebrations. Or even when we’re just left alone with cherished memories.

And there are those piercingly painful periods fraught perhaps with regret or even apathy, or with illness, grief or loss.

It seems, too, that during the course of the unfolding there are sometimes long stretches of simply coasting along in the flow of life’s daily routines, with events occurring just as expected or planned.

I’ve recognized that in some way or another, whether smoothly sailing along or mired in moments of fear and confusion, I usually am still aware of and touched by the beauty all around. My senses are stirred to new aliveness by myriad sights and sounds … warm days with blue skies, when the sunshine sparkles on water like a scattering of diamonds. Little slivers of crescent moons moored in a midnight sky. Rolling ocean waves and quiet ripples on a lake. Stately old tree giants or tiny new rosebuds. Healthy children with laughing eyes. The fleeting glimpse of a brilliant red cardinal, or a bevy of butterflies landing gracefully in a bed of flowers. The sweet-love smiles of an old couple when their eyes meet and their age-worn hands gently touch. Lively foot-tapping music or a slow, haunting guitar solo. The cooing of a dove, or of a baby. …

And as I travel on through the twists and turns of the path, there are other blessings. I meet folks with wisdom and warmth who guide me in my search for that rainbow, that unknown place, and I delight in their generous spirit. They sun my soul.

About The Author

Born the first of four children in rural Mississippi in 1932, Patsy Gilbert grew up to marry a Naval officer and give birth to four children. After the marriage ended in 1977, Pat became a nanny, caring for the children of prominent families. An aspiring writer all her life, she began Legacy of Letters after rediscovering a treasure trove of letters saved by family members throughout the years. Now a grandmother of nine, Pat lives in Orlando, Florida, and is working on her second book, which continues the family saga.