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Holidays remind us of many blessings
© St. Petersburg Times As the year winds down, our house is in the final stretch of the annual race toward Christmas. You might call it chaos. If we don't collapse in a heap before Tuesday, we'll gather around a turkey and all the trimmings to commemorate the season. Somehow I have to get the Christmas room unscrambled and ready for sleeping children. It is a wreck, filled with boxes, ribbons and bows and gaily colored paper and gifts yet to be wrapped. Lewis and Clark are busy helping. If there is any package under the tree that has not been chewed open by little cat teeth, I would be surprised. Our Siamese "gang of two" is nearing 3 years old and filled with exuberance. They think we are staging Christmas just for them. They keep busy pulling ornaments off the tree and trying to chew through the wires that lead to lights. They are in for another shock when the shrieks of children begin to fill the house. This is a time for gathering with family and friends, an annual ritual made even more special by the times. Those of us who gather here are more aware than ever that we can not always depend on seeing each other again. At our house we are now the oldest generation, watching children and grandchildren grow into adulthood. Our parents and grandparents are but memories left behind for us to pass along. They remain close to the season in the recipes they left behind. We also have lost children, so we know all too well that loved ones can leave us long before their time. As we gather this year, the events of Sept. 11 are never far from our minds and hearts. The thought of those people in airplanes flying toward death brings a chill. And none of us can forget the sight of tall buildings falling into ruin, obliterating the lives of many innocent people. All of our lives have been forever changed by these events and the fear of other calamities to come. Can anyone feel safe while out in the world? Perhaps this season of giving and loving can help restore some of what we have lost. It is as though the security blanket under which we once lived was stripped away in a single day. At our house there is much to be thankful for. We were not on those airplanes or in those tall buildings when they fell down. And none of us are fighting in Afghanistan. And I can walk again. That is perhaps the best Christmas present ever. A week ago I put down the crutches that have been my constant companion for the past two years. There is still a cast on the foot and I won't win any races, but I can at least stand up -- and drive a car for the first time in seven months. It is amazing how much we take for granted in our everyday lives. Walking was one of those things I never thought about until I fell and shattered an ankle two years ago. I'll spare you the details of the staph infection and the seven surgeries that followed. But rest assured I will never forget the plight of those who cannot walk from one place to another. Every time I began to complain, I ran into someone in far worse shape. Like the day I struggled to a bench in Publix, waiting for my ever-patient spouse to pay for groceries. I sat down next to a woman who had broken a hip and depended on neighbors to get to Publix because her husband died last year. It made me think how bleak my life would have been without someone who cared enough to drive me around and stand beside me. I am also fortunate enough to live in a community where friends and even perfect strangers offer a helping hand when they see someone on crutches struggling to carry something or get from one place to another. Perhaps I can repay the kindness of others.
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Times columns today Lucy Morgan John Romano Sandra Thompson From the Times State news desk Lucy Morgan |
