Once Again

It's that time of year for proud parents to brag about their graduating child. They have spent 18 years of teaching, admonishing, warning, encouraging, disciplining and loving that child. Now it is their time to rightfully brag, feel proud and send out the photos.

At the same time these same proud parents are grieving and struggling to let go. It is time to send out that child that they have nurtured and protected into the cold, uncaring, dangerous world. At least that's the way it must feel after the years that they have provided a safe environment in their home.

Now is the time for the "bird to fly from the nest." In the case of the birds, never to return. Parents forget at times that their child will always remain their child, to cherish and worry about for the rest of their lives. Once a parent, always a parent. Once a child, always a child, even after "death do you part."

                            The last formal occasion before the son leaves the nest.

                                                        Congratulations to the parents for a job well done!

By Our Teachers We Are Taught......

Lessons take many forms.

                             Learning early that we are more alike than different. Lucky kids!

Love, Not Hate

By our parents and our teachers we are taught.

My granddaughter and her classmates are learning to care about others. They have made blankets to send to servicemen in Afghanistan, Africa and Saudi Arabia. Lucky children. Their parents and teachers have taught them to reach out to others. They have inspired hope.

  They are being taught love, not hate. They are our promise for a hopeful future.

Through the Eyes of a Child

When do things change? When do we lose taking the normal breathes from our stomach as a baby does? When do we lose our daring to hope? When do we lose the dreams?

Somewhere between childhood and maturity we discard the sense of wonder at the beauty around us, long taken for granted. We become jaded, afraid to love and be hurt.

We become wise and cautious. We learn to be careful. We have been hurt too many times to count. We choose safety, but somewhere in the tangle of our lives we lose the marvel surrounding us in each sunset, flower, bird, butterfly and crawling insect. When I was a child I studied everything around me.....rocks, turtles, chipmunks, salamanders, night crawlers, trees. I watched them closely, at times touched them, held them and admired them.

Children observe and listen to all around them. As we mature we tend to listen less and spout our views. There is much to be said for acquiring wisdom, but in the process, let us never lose our sense of amazement in the world around us. Let us listen, behold, and age with grace and a dogged belief in miracles.

Get in the Door

There was a knock on our front door. Our neighbor introduced us to a little girl who was looking for a playground on our side of town. She had her bike, a round sparkling face, short hair and a stance that announced that she was eager to take on her new world she had moved into. She would find her place in that world today if she had her way.

She had moved from a "noisy" city filled with dogs and children, had been to her first day of school and was looking for playmates in our neighborhood. We talked for a while and I tried my best to think of another girl about nine years old who lived nearby. Most of our quiet neighborhood has retirees or residents with no children.

I was eager to help her. I was drawn to her "take charge" attitude, and in many ways she reminded me of myself at that age. Also I discovered that her folks were opening the restaurant that had been closed for about a year. It is two blocks from our house and we had been frequent customers for breakfast with the easy walk to its front door. I was delighted that it would be opening soon.

We wandered around to our alley where a new family had moved into a few months back. I was aware that they had children, but was uncertain of the ages.

"I think they are younger than you."

"That's okay", she said. We waited for a while, chatting about her two younger brothers, her first day at school, when a truck drove up to the house. A man got out, followed by a little girl of five or six. I suggested that she check it out.

"Wait up", she yelled at the man and girl as they were going in the back door. They stood waiting on the porch. She rode her bike up to them as I came back home. About a half hour later I was out in the yard when she rode by and told me that that girl was six, but there was an older girl about her age.

"I'm going to bring my little brother over to play with the little girl and I will play with the older one."

As she rode off she said, "When the door opens you got to jump right in."

What a philosopy from a ten year old! It was a powerful reminder that one is never to old to learn, even from a child. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of time, interest and an open mind to the world at hand.

Sometimes a positive change of pace from all of the issues in this world...Save our Water, Save our VA, Save our River...is all that is needed to put things back into perspective.

This night is going to be a good one.

A Seasonal Reminder

The cat was snuggled in a ball on my lap, the fireplace was spreading its warmth and light in the living room as darkness was beginning to close in on the early afternoon, grey and lightly snow filled. Bob was in the other room talking on the phone. The doorbell rang, startling the cat.

"Answer the door, Bob. I have a cat on my lap." That is an unwritten rule in our house. Whoever has the cat has the privilege of staying comfortably in place.

Bob hung up the phone and went to the door. In a few minutes I heard children's voices, excited, happy. The cat fled for safety under the bed.

"Mary, come and see this."

At the front door were seven children, pre-school age, all looking up at us, smiling, eyes shining, waiting for the adult to start them in singing season greetings. As they sang, heartily and joyously, my eyes filled with tears. They were so eager, and filled with simple pleasure. It was cold and wet. They didn't seem to notice anything but the music and us, looking down at their faces glowing with delight.

Many in the neighborhood were not yet home, or were gone for the holidays. I was delighted that we were home to accept their gift of music. But most of all they shared their gift of the love of the present moment. Nothing else mattered to them at that instant but the music, so carefully rehearsed at the neighborhood day care down the block. That reminder of the preciousness of "now" was the most unique offering they brought to our front door this afternoon of December 21, 2011.