In follow-up to a recent conversation -- and because I haven't posted for a bit -- I am posting an older piece from my archives. Let me know what you think..
Ode to Separated Parents
To be known.
This is the deepest desire
Of every human being.
To be known for who and what one is –
To be accepted for who and what one is –
To be appreciated for who and what one is –
And yet to be loved.
There is nothing greater than this
And nothing for which humans strive harder.
It is the basic and biggest hook of religion –
The good news that God knows you
Inside and out,
And still loves you.
Can parenting be more than this?
Is it our duty as parents
To mold our children into
What we know will work?
Or is it our deeper duty to
Learn our children?
To help them know
That they are known,
Accepted,
Appreciated –
And still loved?
Behavior is ours to teach them,
I’m sure.
The knowledge of how
To treat themselves
And how to treat all others
Is certainly ours to pass on.
But who they should be?
That is most certainly
God’s to determine,
Theirs to fight for,
And ours only to defend.
“Our children are not our children…”
Children whose parents don’t know each other
In this all-encompassing way
Must fight to remain whole.
Their parents see too clearly in them
The pain they left
Or tried to leave
Behind.
These parents work
To carve those other-parent pieces
Of their children
Up, out and away.
As if that could be.
All that can happen is that the child
Must fight.
And either defeat the parent
(So sad)
Or cede the deepest desire
Of all humans.
To be known – completely
To be accepted – completely.
To be appreciated, protected, nurtured, trained and taught.
And to be loved – unconditionally.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
and yet another reason to vote....
Page 1. New York Times. Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
"HANDING OVER A RECORD DEFICIT
President Bush, who took office after three years of budget surpluses, will exit on a record $482 billion deficit."
Uhh. So, in other words, in the last four years, the government of this country has spent more than 482 BILLION DOLLARS. The federal government has taken 482 BILLION DOLLARS from its coffers and given it to ... whom? Whom? What people, what industries, what countries have benefited from this Republican administration's largesse? According to the rest of today's newspaper, it sure wasn't us, no matter how you define "us."
And a P.S. shout-out to Bill Clinton who balanced the budget while he was in office and showed a surplus for the last three years of his administration. They would like us to think that his Presidency was defined by m.l., but it is this balanced budget that we really should remember.
"HANDING OVER A RECORD DEFICIT
President Bush, who took office after three years of budget surpluses, will exit on a record $482 billion deficit."
Uhh. So, in other words, in the last four years, the government of this country has spent more than 482 BILLION DOLLARS. The federal government has taken 482 BILLION DOLLARS from its coffers and given it to ... whom? Whom? What people, what industries, what countries have benefited from this Republican administration's largesse? According to the rest of today's newspaper, it sure wasn't us, no matter how you define "us."
And a P.S. shout-out to Bill Clinton who balanced the budget while he was in office and showed a surplus for the last three years of his administration. They would like us to think that his Presidency was defined by m.l., but it is this balanced budget that we really should remember.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Congratulations Shout Out to Debra
On Saturday, I drove to Montclair, New Jersey to see my friend, Debra – to visit, to see her new apartment, and to pick up the mini-refrigerator she is passing along to me.
What a lovely town Montclair is! It reminds me of Nantucket or someplace. Little tree-lined streets, pretty benches in front of charming stores with racks of merchandise outside offering little hints of what might be found inside – cute little restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating. Oh and get this! There was a community yarn store with women sitting around a big table, talking, laughing and knitting beautiful things. Oh! How me is that!!
And Debra’s apartment is lovely too! Bright, light, airy with lots of windows, ceiling fans and a cute little fire escape with wrought iron flower boxes hanging from the rails. Aww.
It was perfect! A big, bright, empty canvas on which to write the rest of my life – oh, I mean the rest of her life.
We had a nice visit. I am very happy for her. She sent me off with the (exactly right) refrigerator and a stack of decorating magazines so I could quit drooling and start creating. How sweet is she!
On Sunday, I found myself on my back porch with pen and paper. I usually meander through my neighborhood parks on Sundays but the heat had stolen my energy this week. You may remember that it was 95o on Sunday -- hot, sticky and humid all over New York. From where I was sitting, though, it was pleasant and at least 10o cooler. The leaves on the trees were almost horizontal thanks to the steady breeze blowing back there. I had brewed a pot of iced tea and was chillin’ for real. I surveyed my 8’x20’ realm with my Montclair visit and my magazines in the back of my mind and thought to myself, “Hey! This might work!”
The lovely Hope Chest that my daughter and granddaughter made for me is a tangible symbol and focus for the future I am trying to create for myself. It also symbolizes, however, the beginning of a very lo-o-ng journey. I had been wondering how in the world I was going to make it so many years waiting and working toward a dream!! Somewhere between Montclair, NJ and a few magazines, I saw the seeds of a possible answer in my own backyard!
Congratulations and thanks, my friend!!
What a lovely town Montclair is! It reminds me of Nantucket or someplace. Little tree-lined streets, pretty benches in front of charming stores with racks of merchandise outside offering little hints of what might be found inside – cute little restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating. Oh and get this! There was a community yarn store with women sitting around a big table, talking, laughing and knitting beautiful things. Oh! How me is that!!
And Debra’s apartment is lovely too! Bright, light, airy with lots of windows, ceiling fans and a cute little fire escape with wrought iron flower boxes hanging from the rails. Aww.
It was perfect! A big, bright, empty canvas on which to write the rest of my life – oh, I mean the rest of her life.
We had a nice visit. I am very happy for her. She sent me off with the (exactly right) refrigerator and a stack of decorating magazines so I could quit drooling and start creating. How sweet is she!
On Sunday, I found myself on my back porch with pen and paper. I usually meander through my neighborhood parks on Sundays but the heat had stolen my energy this week. You may remember that it was 95o on Sunday -- hot, sticky and humid all over New York. From where I was sitting, though, it was pleasant and at least 10o cooler. The leaves on the trees were almost horizontal thanks to the steady breeze blowing back there. I had brewed a pot of iced tea and was chillin’ for real. I surveyed my 8’x20’ realm with my Montclair visit and my magazines in the back of my mind and thought to myself, “Hey! This might work!”
The lovely Hope Chest that my daughter and granddaughter made for me is a tangible symbol and focus for the future I am trying to create for myself. It also symbolizes, however, the beginning of a very lo-o-ng journey. I had been wondering how in the world I was going to make it so many years waiting and working toward a dream!! Somewhere between Montclair, NJ and a few magazines, I saw the seeds of a possible answer in my own backyard!
Congratulations and thanks, my friend!!
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