Thanksgiving 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the laughter of our children,
For our own life breath,
For the abundance of food on this table,
For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,
For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.
Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy


I entered this holiday with a heavy heart and spirit.  Post election news and the state of the union has caused my whole system to crash.  Despite the daily political drama we managed to have planned a thanksgiving meal for 16 with family and some very dear friends.  My most favorite part was the decorating, cleaning and baking, but I also loved the fact that friends from out of town were joining us here at home.   The meal was delicious, the desserts were abundant and outrageous, and the mood was jovial.  We played games, we drank coffee, we relaxed with one another and I tried so hard to shake the blues.   We shared our gratitude with one another and created a paper chain of thanks, which of course included Kuba's Mousy.  The boys made a very leafy snowman that wished passersby a Happy Thanksgiving. We spend the following days relaxing with our friends, and for me - working to dislodge this depression that has taken hold.   The boys sparkled, Anna stepped up to the tasks, and I did my very best to make the holiday whole.  I like the prayer above, and I especially love these most fitting, most timely lines:

For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country.

Happy? Thanksgiving 2016
 

Kuba Eats a Larvae! Yuck?

 Kuba eats a larvae! Watch this!

What's Beautiful Now?

Floating milkweed on the way home from school.

Ephemeral arrangement.

After the bath.

 

Blades of grass

 

Late Fall Silhouette

 

Vigil

 

vig·il

ˈvijəl/

noun

noun: vigil; plural noun: vigils

1. 1.

   a period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, especially to keep watch or pray. 

    

 

 

Tonight our family went to a vigil.   We came together as a large community in order to find some comfort at a time of great and deep sorrow.   Likeminded people together, completely and utterly devastated as we see our country swing into an entirely new direction - one that gives free reign to hatred.    

 

This week Donald Trump won the election.     

 

Shock has rolled through my body, my family, my community.  It has spread across the nation and rippled around the world.   I am deeply heartbroken.    The insanity of this is that so many people do not see the implications of this win.  They do not understand what it means to remove the lid from Pandora's box. 

 

I have been wrecked by this news.   I have seen my core and guiding value of kindness evaporate into thin air.   Poof.  The morality and ethics of a nation lost.  In the days following the election I have heard more examples of hatred and bigotry than I can absorb.  I have witnessed cruel and mean words spoken, even by members of my own family.  I am reminded of how hateful people can be.  And I am heartbroken.    

 

I am not ready to leave this moment of mourning.  I believe there is a potency and magic to this feeling - an alchemy that needs time to incubate so that change can occur.  So I am stuck here, unable to move forward with the strength, hope, and conviction I long for.  I need to know again that kindness does matter.  That choosing love is more powerful than hate.   That curiosity and wonder is the manner in which we approach our differences.  But, today I am rooted in grief.       

 

As I write this, I can see that it is my deepest hope that grace will be known.  Known by our president elect, by his supporters, his prodigies that spew hate.   May they open their eyes and hearts to the madness that has been allowed free reign, and begin to act with great love. 

 

It is time for us to keep vigil.   We must all keep awake now - keep watch for the sake of our children, our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends.   Keep awake for the sake of refugees, black Americans, muslims, and gays.   Keep awake for the most vulnerable among us.   Keep awake for our own chances to act with grace and dignity and kindness.   

 

I have written this blog for more than eleven years now ~this blog of my life with boys.  Not ever, not even once does anything I have ever written come close to the emotion and power of how I feel today.  It is my greatest hope that I can continue to teach my children to choose kindness, to choose love, to find the power to say no to hatred and to act with grace.   It is  my greatest hope that I can provide my children with the strength and conviction that they will need to serve this world. This world that is here for every single one of us. It is our collective responsibility to work towards this every chance we get.  

May we be graced with this strength.    

grace

ɡrās/

noun

noun: grace; noun: grace period; plural noun: grace periods; noun: His Grace; noun: Her Grace; noun: Your Grace

 

          1. 1  (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation

           of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.

 

 

 

 

 

Jumpy and Distracted

I'm trying to not be over the top anxious about the upcoming presidential election so I am trying to keep myself busy.   I took the boys on an adventure today and one part was jumping up and down in front of this beautiful door.   I love Ander's body gesture here, and of course Kuba's adorable smile.  These boys make me happy in spite of all of the political turmoil.

Update on 11/16/16

Due to the unfortunate election results and our following despair and depression, I didn't remember to post this wonderfully hopeful and historical and voting day photograph.  

We took this on election day right after Anna and I had voted.  

Nine Years Old

This beautiful boy turns 9 tomorrow, and I know it's going to be the best day ever. 

Why? 

Because Kuba sees life this way - 

best life ever.

This is exactly what he said to me two nights ago right before bed.
"Mom, this is the best life ever, I love life. 
There're just so many great things." 

How lucky are we that we get to live with a boy that feels this passionate about life? 

Happy 9th  birthday to the best boy.
Ever.