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DAILY GRATITUDE

I am grateful for every member of my family…every day

for all the friends I’ve made along the way.

for understanding just how far my family extends…

and how my life is so much easier 

when I can share my joy and sorrow…

with my family and friends.

 May we be blessed to see 

when we include our family and friends…

just how far and wide our family extends…

For as we grow and mature

It becomes easier and easier to see:

Anyone who we have loved 

and who has loved us…unconditionally

is, 

was and 

will always be…

a member of your family.

Their first family portrait was soon after little Violet was born…

It was taken in their hospital bed.

There was a mix of emotions on their faces 

as they prepare for their life ahead.

It is a beautiful portrait because within the frame you see

the joy that comes with creating a brand new family.

I love how those of us within the family

who couldn’t be there to share…

how, through the magic of the camera,

in that moment…we were there.

But the closer I look at the three of them

I’m not sure how this happens…but I swear….

I begin to see, surrounding them,

people who are not there.

I see my mom and dad, Deborah’s mom and dad

and lots of people I don’t know…

ancestors from both sides of the family

who left us long ago.

There they are…crowded into their hospital room

filling every space…

and every single one of them has a smile on their face.

And as more and more people crowd into that portrait

It’s easy for me to see…

they are there to welcome Violet into our ever growing family.

I love how this happens anytime I see a portrait of our family.

It makes me pause a moment to give thanks…

at how my eyes look at the picture…and my mind fills in the blanks.

I can’t wait for the day Deborah and I 

look at this picture with Violet…tell her about the moment it was shot…

and remind her how we’ll always be with her…

even…when we’re not.

 I am grateful for this wonderful parenting perk…

How when it comes to being a parent

time and wisdom together work….

We start out as parents…unsure of what we’re doing…

hoping as every day is about to break… 

we do our best to help our children grow

without making too many mistakes…

Then, when our children have children…

having fumbled through parenthood…we understand

when it comes to our children’s children

we have an opportunity to be grand.

And when their children have children….

If we’re blessed this is our fate…

having fumbled our way through grand-parenting

we now have the opportunity to be great

I am grateful for our 

daughter

granddaughter

great-granddaughter

niece

as we draw closer and closer to the moment of her birth

for all the joy and wonder she’s already given our family

before setting foot upon the Earth.

May we be blessed as parents…

knowing there will always be something as parents we lack…

that our children understand 

even when we are not there to hold their hands

we will always have their back.

I had to climb the ladder in our bookstore the other day

to retrieve some books off the upper shelves…

as I do from time to time….

and I was immediately enveloped by a memory

as I began to climb.

I flashed back to when I was a child…

standing at the foot of the diving board ladder 

at our community swimming pool.

My dad was there about to teach me a lesson…

the kind you do not learn in school.

I had never climbed that ladder before…

and as saw it ascending high into the sky

I said, “I don’t think I can do this, Dad...

the ladder’s much too high.”

To which my dad said, “Oftentimes in life, son, 

if you choose to face your fear...

you will find the ladders you’re confronting

are not as tall as they appear.”

That was my dad…always ready to give advice

I’m sure he thought profound….

urging me to climb to the heavens…

while he was safe upon the ground…

But I faced my fears….I climbed that ladder 

I dove into the pool…

and not only was it sweet…

but by the smile on our faces it was hard to tell

who was prouder of my feat.

And the lesson I learned that day…

was one my dad already knew…

and one I still hold in high esteem

If I fill my mind with doubts and fears

there is no room for my dreams.

I am grateful to Johann Wolfgang von Göethe 

Who wrote this maxim….

and for all the truth it brings:

There are only two lasting bequests 

we can hope to give our children:

One of these is roots

the other one is wings.

They’re about to have a baby…she will be their first…

for months now in her health and safety…they have been immersed.

All these months with love and care these soon-to-be parents have waited… 

for the arrival of this life…the two of them created.

I’m sure Mom has asked herself:

‘This life growing inside of me……

I wonder what kind of person she will be?’

I’m sure Dad has asked as he watched her tummy grow…

‘This life growing inside of her…I wonder all the places she will go.’

This little unborn baby…who’s already brought her parents to their knees…

before she’s even entered this world…is awash in possibilities.

The choices as to who she might be at this moment are endless…here are just a few

Will she be a veterinarian and love dogs and animals as much as her parents do?

Will she be a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer…oh and here’s a thought

Will she be president of the Unites States, a musician or an astronaut?

Will she be good at sports, be an artist whose paintings are all the rage

write the next great American novel…or become an actress on the stage

Will she invent something that will change the world?

Will her name across this planet be known?

Will she be happy as a housewife raising children of her own?

Will she be a kind, accepting, gentle and compassionate

and when people come to visit her a while…

will she be someone who has the ability to make everybody smile…

If that’s the case…judging by the look on Mom and Dad…and her extended family

and the smiles that have already unfurled…

even before she’s made an entrance…

she’s already change the world.