Outside the wind is howling for the third straight night. There is something in the way my house sits in proximity to one next door and another behind me that creates this wind tunnel effect that generates the howl. Today I was out in the wind, raking leaves, trying to predict when it would gust so I could rake the leaves in the direction it was blowing. Occasionally, of course, it blew things back to places I’d already raked, but I’ve long since given up the need to get everything up, especially since one need only look up to see how many leaves still remain in the trees. I am grateful to have been productive early–I had done an number of important household tasks, including laundry and leaf raking–before noon. I then headed down to my eldest sister’s and her husband’s home to have brunch with a bunch of family.
Four of my five siblings were together today–a rare occurrence to be sure. I realized, somewhat belatedly, that we had failed to take any pictures at our gathering, which is kind of silly. I usually am so much better about doing that, but for some reason forgot to today. I am often the family chronicler of such events, so find myself a bit miffed that we didn’t take a single photo to mark the occasion. I suppose it didn’t occur to me to take my camera. This wasn’t a holiday or a birthday or special event, per se. One of my brothers and his wife and son came out this weekend for a football game. Their daughter lives here and so it was an excuse for my eldest sister to host today’s brunch. My four siblings and their partners and two each of my nieces and nephews all gathered for a sumptuous gourmet-like repast. Before we ate, we joined hands in an oblong circle to say our family grace that I’ve said my entire life.
“Divine Lover, Thou hast always met and will always meet each and every human need and we are truly grateful. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Amen.”As we started into the prayer, my voice broke and for a moment I couldn’t speak for the tears in my throat. I felt, as I often do, a sense of love not simply for the individuals gathered there but for the family we are, the collective group and the love and support we have for each other. In spite of the fact that I took no photographs to mark the gathering, these moments, these days etch themselves in my consciousness to be recalled at a later time. I looked around at each face, at our hands clasped in each other’s, and said to myself, It is good for us to be here. And so it was.
I will always be grateful for my family. I feel amazingly blessed to continue experiencing the love and connection to my kin folks and feel sad for others who do not feel connected to their siblings and parents and extended family. One of my nieces commented today about how well all of the cousins get along, in spite of them not seeing one another regularly. “I think it’s a testament to the relationships you have,” she said referring to me and my siblings. “We’ve picked that up from you.” If she is right, and I have reason to believe that she is, then the next generation will likewise experience closeness among and between them. I certainly hope that is true. I can think of few greater gifts we can give our children than that of strongly bound family ties. At the end of the day, it simply doesn’t get much better than that.
