I have had much on my mind (as usual) since I wrote this post, and my hindbrain was chewing on some ideas for responses to commentors' thoughts on what I should write. The one that has piqued my interest the most was TaraDharma's (although they all are good) and was what I had planned on writing about for this post.
The universe had other ideas. I was redirected by small miracles and revelations, profound and terrible, beautiful and sad. They all had me thinking about love for our families, our kith and kin.
I mentioned back on January 17th in this post that a cousin of mine was due to have a baby in the near future. That small miracle has come to pass, as of yesterday, and mom and le bebe are doing fine. She has a little girl, a beautiful little girl of her own. The pictures I have seen were quite the tonic for the weary heart I have been carrying through this winter that won't seem to pass.
The terrible, sad thing I won't discuss in detail here, but it involves a personal revelation made to me that took my breath away, and granted a clear bolt of insight and illumination into understanding another human being. The context and the content were mind boggling, and truly altered my perspective on the life I have experienced in the past few years.
In sum, here's what I was thinking, as I drove home from work tonight: Hold your kith and kin close, don't let them slip away, and make sure they know you love them. The blood that flows in our collective veins is a mighty river in which we may sometimes not want to swim...but flow it does, into the sea which gave us life, and love.
I'd always assumed my family knew I loved them. I was married to someone who didn't tell me for 20+ years. I assumed he loved me too. He tried to throw in my face the fact that I hadn't told him I loved him in a long time. I responded that when you tell someone you love them and they don't respond back, after a while you stop saying it. I bet he doesn't tell his trophy wife either.
ReplyDeleteI tell my kids and John that I love them often now. They KNOW! John tells me he loves me every. single. day. He's told me he loves me more in 4 years than I heard from my husband in 27 years. THAT speaks volumes!
My middle monkey was mad last night and told me he didn't love me. I told him that I'd just have to love him twice as much then.
ReplyDeleteit is the hardest time of year for me right now, not just cuz work is at it's most insane, but because of the timing with the pain/joy of the holidays...I invite my sister and aunt to work for me an Love having them here, but at the same time just wish for a little less family drama and every year think, "next year i am not hiring them." Does this make me as horrible person as I think i am?
ReplyDeleteGood point. Important to let your people know you love them.
ReplyDeleteHang in there. :-)
I do hold those I love close. And tell them many times a day that I love them.
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