For each new morning with its light,For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I went south for Thanksgiving for the first time in my life. Normally this day would find me with 2-3 dozen family members and friends somewhere in Massachusetts, but this summer--within the space of 2-3 weeks--our family somewhat combusted (not in a bad way) and moved to the far corners of the country: I moved to Phoenix for a new teaching job; a niece moved to Loma Linda, CA for medical school; my youngest sister and her husband moved to Charlotte, NC for a new teaching/principal job for him; and a nephew moved to Collegedale, TN for college.
This was a shock for a family that has been within 2 hours of each other for the past 18 years or more and has managed to spend every holiday and every birthday together during that time. While I've been lucky to see everyone at least once between September and this week, we won't be all together until Christmas now. Still, the seven (out of 11 core members) of us have enjoyed this Thanksgiving break together in Charlotte.
I do have much to be thankful for, in spite of the distance that has come so suddenly upon us. And it has been good to contemplate it all over the days.
1 comment:
We had a somewhat similar event, in that my stepson's long-running federal job in Pensacola came to a close and he took a great (but far away) job in Washington, D.C. and won't be home until Christmas. His dad, me, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and nieces gathered around the speaker phone to exchange greetings, love, affection and laughter. It was a moment, and reminded us all how much we love Richard. I hope you enjoyed Charlotte. We have good friends there -- nice town.
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