Refresh
This weekend was spent in the modest appreciation of what is becoming a very fulfilling family unit. We exist not at all as the nuclear (or “nucular” for those White House wankers who frequent Boxing Jewels) family of popular fable, but more as a rag-tag bunch of folks of varying ages, sizes, and gene eddies, the gypsies of modern America. Each of us has grown closer to one another, and, I’d wager, each closer to him- or herself.
There was a time, not too long ago, when the prospect alone of a nine-person family stressed me nearly to fatigue. Four of the nine have a completely different cycle of presence than the other five; and two of the remaining five have another disparate sort of attendance cycle. “On paper” it makes for quite the looming logistical chaos.
I challenge anyone to stand in the wake of the eight of we nine who have had the opportunity to live all together, albeit for short periods, and feel anything but the light-headed anticipation of the proverbial kid on Christmas morning. The future holds for us quite a few challenges, of course, above and beyond those of our ninth; but with every challenge, with every possible calamity, there is a chance to learn, a chance to accept a kind of joy we wouldn’t likely otherwise find. There will be tension and calm, raised voices and whispered thanks. As is said in the Tao: “Without ugliness, there is no beauty.”
5 Comments