The Enduring Sweetness

Between a Woman and a Man

Christl could have done almost anything. She could think in numbers and visualize like the artist she was. She read widely. She was highly articulate, with an easy, natural vocabulary larger than many native speakers of English. She had an open directness that, combined with being a good listener, made her able to interact confidently with almost anyone.

She could learn, and she could teach. She thought things through, and then she acted. She had no problem making decisions. She was intuitive; she was analytical. She could be richly emotional, then cooly detached. She was at ease in her body and presented herself, as she was, without being embarassed or combative.

She was ethical, creative, trustworthy. She went beyond being honest — to the principle of manifesting her truth, though sometimes her Germanic directness sounded abrupt.

She could make mistakes and learn from them. She managed money with ease. She took naturally to work. By the time I met her, Christl had already been successful in a string of interim jobs from secretary to nanny to executive assistant to day-manager at a retirement home. She might have become an engineer or architect or executive. She could have done almost anything.