holidays with family - the work and rewards

sunrise:  6:47

I delivered the last of our traveling children to the airport at 5am this morning.  Thanksgiving comes and goes so fast, especially when so many of your favorite people in the world come and go along with the holiday weekend.

The reassembly of a loving family for the holidays is like throwing a bunch of colorful ingredients into a food processor and turning it on high, with the top off.  It is very exciting and might be quite beautiful if you don't mind cleaning up the mess afterward.

We had a few messes over the last few days, but the overwhelming takeaway is that everyone works very hard together over the cleanup.

As long as we continue to hold this great depth of dedication and love that will not falter, as long as we keep working hard to listen with real attention and think hard about the changes in each other and in ourselves, then I think every gathering will leave us feeling as warm and beloved and fortunate (albeit weary) as we all do after this one.

Family takes a lot of work, but it's worth the trouble.  Nothing else offers the same rewards.

election day, big and not so big

sunrise:  6:21

prolific photos from my new, high res camera...

Election day has loomed so large for so long that most of the people I know are looking forward to it mostly so that it will be over.  (case in point made by this little girl on youtube) I recognize that the right to vote is an enormous privilege, and I really DO care who is ruling and representing my country, my state, my town...on the other hand, there are other things that predominate my attention.

I care that we decided to invite our temporary Pakistani exchange student to become a permanent member of our family for the year.  She came to the polls with J and me this morning.  She was the highlight of my last week's column in the Bangor Daily News.  She helps us discuss and understand how most Pakistanis feel about the awful things we read in the news about events in Pakistan.  It feels pretty important.

I care that my youngest daughter is back in local waters after 7 months away, crewing on a small (90 foot) passenger boat above the Arctic Circle, and that she's coming home soon, and that her dearest new friend and shipmate is recuperating in our home after breaking her neck in a terrible shipyard accident.

I care about an exquisite, frosted November morning in my back yard, where I always seem to find peace no matter what else is happening in this unpredictable life we lead.

Election day is a big deal.  But the immediacy of living can sometimes make it seem like a passing point of interest.

(Go Obama!)