"And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”—Untitled by Kitty O’Meara (2020)
We all know it’s difficult to be Merry when so much was taken from so many during the pandemic. We have all experienced loss to varying degrees including the loss of loved ones. What I like about O’Meara’s poem is that she never mentions the word “pandemic,” and infers that something other than sadness and darkness could emerge from isolation. The bright star that has emerged in our lives as it has for many grandparents is our granddaughter Lyla who just turned two recently.She has hit the jackpot this year getting gifts for her birthday, a small gift for each of the eight days of Hanukkah (Festival of Lights) and multiple Christmas gifts.
During this holiday season, we got to babysit her, do puzzles, blow bubbles, take walks to the ponds and lake in our gated community to see the ducks and exotic birds that bless us with their grace and beauty. We sat on the wooden pedestrian bridge and watched and listened to the waterfalls. We take her to the park (now that she is 2 years old, she too is required to wear a mask), Cecile bakes cookies and cakes with her. We read books to her. She is so eager to learn and understands more than she can speak. We collected and made a little mountain of pines cones behind the cactus garden. Her curiosity inspires us and her energy keeps us energized.
Like many we had a low-keyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our daughter Michelle and husband Kyle and Lyla spent Christmas Eve with his mom Kim and Al Chien. We celebrated Christmas Eve quietly with our son Jason and his dog Daisy who spent the day with us. Cecile baked biscuits, we played Scrabble and as usual Jason kicked our butts. I managed to get a bike ride in, barely making it home before dark, and we ordered take out Asian Fusion cuisine and binged watched Bosch, the detective series on Amazon.
I posted some photos leading up to the holiday season. We want to thank Jason for the cozy clothing he got for his mom and the bright colored bicycle jackets he got me. Also, thank you Kim and Al for the glass wine decanter and the baked cookies, and Michelle and Kyle for the sweets. We look forward to the full family gathering at the Chiens next year. We are all so blessed.
Peace, love and light to all our friends and family.
