In the last 36 hours I have spent time either in person, via phone, or on Skype (video chat) with all five of my siblings and one of my two children. I’m planning on going for a sweep and will call my son in a little while and see if I can catch him. I am deeply grateful to be connected to such wonderful human beings; it simply doesn’t get any better than this. As I think about it, I am probably a classic middle child: peacemaker, bridge-builder, connector. I have little doubt that who I am and how I show up in the world is deeply affected by my love for and connection to my family and perhaps is also affected a bit by my birth order. I have not done an exhaustive study of this, so I could be completely wrong, but I don’t think so.
I’m not going to write much tonight; I got interrupted several times in the course of attempting to write this blog and so am beginning it well past the hour when I had hoped to be turning up the electric throw blanket and turning off the light. Sigh. Nevertheless I want to offer a few thoughts of simple gratitude:
- I am grateful for the warmth of my clothes and the heat that keeps my home relatively warm. Today the coldest air I’ve experienced in many years swept in from the north. I have found myself praying off and on all day for all the people who are without benefit of shelter tonight; it is cold enough to be deadly. I pray people are able to find shelter or sources of heat as these single-digit or subzero temperatures blanket much of the country. May they be safe and protected.
- I am grateful to be working with good people. This afternoon I met with the team of people with whom I interact and work on a daily basis. The work that we do is challenging and critically important in helping to create spaces where all people are welcomed, included, and invited to bring their whole selves, rather than feeling forced to leave pieces of themselves behind because they are judged to be different and therefore somehow “less than” others. That’s a long-winded way of saying, “It’s not only okay to be ‘different’ but difference is welcomed and celebrated.” So, as my father used to quip, “Be who you is.” To work with one good person here or there is a blessing; to work with an entire group of good people is immeasurably wonderful.
- I am grateful for the technology that allows me to be in easy contact with family and friends. Skyping with my brother and with good friends on a regular basis allows me to see them, getting full benefit of their facial expressions, body language, etc. that takes us beyond the mere voice at the other end of the telephone. And while I wasn’t able to connect with my son this afternoon via phone, we still managed an exchange of text messages which, while far from perfect, was a simple and quick way to connect, ask a quick question and say I love you all while he walked to work. It’s been great to stay in contact with people across the country and around the world, the technology removing barriers of distance.
My brother, who reads my blog faithfully every day teased me this evening that sometimes my punctuation in this blog gets a bit “jacked up” and he can tell those days when I was really tired based on the quality of the punctuation and grammar. I’ve no doubt that he (and other readers) can tell. This makes me all the more grateful that you continue to read in spite of the occasional bad writing day. Thank you for taking the time to read and for those of you who take the time and effort to comment (I guess commenting is not so easy on this site. I’ll see what I can find out about that). Your feedback helps me a great deal. It’s very gratifying to hear from people who are finding value in what they’re reading. Please keep it up!
