For the fifty Christmases I have lived in America, each has been different. For my first twenty-three Christmases, I tried to be with my parents and family on the special day. For the next ten, I enjoyed them as a wife, then single mother. For the past eleven, I have been a grandmother and so young children and Santa have held a place in my Christmas season.
This year, I will spend it alone. My daughter and her family are two thousand miles away, my parents 480. My siblings and I rarely speak, and those conversations are superficial and brief. The local church has a dinner I have been invited to attend, a friend invited me to a Christmas pancake brunch with her and her husband, and I have considered attending a candlelight church service.
Reflecting on this past year has me really looking forward to the next. I will be leaving the little town I am currently living in, to move closer to my parents. My daughter too has plans to move closer. There will soon be four generations living near each other. Our time together may be short, it may be long, but we will each contribute to a part of that chapter as well.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Reflections on 9/11
Ten years ago tomorrow, I ordered a latte at my local coffee shop. I looked up and saw a plane on television fly into the World Trade Center. At first, I thought it was an anniversary or something. I then remembered it been a bomb, not a plane the first time the towers were attacked. Then I saw a live shot and saw the second plane fly into the south tower.
I spent the news few hours in the local college newspaper television room. When the south tower fell, I hit my knees and prayed that there would be survivors.
I was only two score that year. This year, at two score and ten, I am changed. As I look out into the world an see the selfishness of humanity, I am afraid for my grandchildren. I no longer am as accepting of evil and wrongdoing as I once was. Because of this I have made the choice to never again freely choose to live in a large city. I love my small rural and have become much more self-sufficient.
I spent the news few hours in the local college newspaper television room. When the south tower fell, I hit my knees and prayed that there would be survivors.
I was only two score that year. This year, at two score and ten, I am changed. As I look out into the world an see the selfishness of humanity, I am afraid for my grandchildren. I no longer am as accepting of evil and wrongdoing as I once was. Because of this I have made the choice to never again freely choose to live in a large city. I love my small rural and have become much more self-sufficient.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)