Friday-May 28, 2021

Dear Marion,

  Memorial Day Weekend is upon us and for whatever reason, it seemed to sneak up on all of us. It appears that the weather will not be giving cheer to all of the beach dwellers, barbecue aficionados, and campers or rather it will offer them a chillier and wet version. Since my children have attended our local high school, it never fails to give me a lump in my throat when I turn into the drive and catch a glimpse of the flag-bordered driveway. That is when it hits me as to what the root of this weekend stands for and soon after a flood of memories filled with end-of-school-year excitement. 

  Your granddaughter had an assignment due earlier in the week and she needed to recite it to me as practice for the big day. It was for IB English and the course is optional and offered for junior and senior year building upon one another. She was instructed to have a topic with an outline and a second page for quotes from two readings they had studied during the year. The students choose what their focus is and each of the readings they will be used to support their statement. Each stage gets approved as they move along much in the way you would for a college class or a job. Each student was assigned 30 minutes after school on a particular day to present to their teacher, are recorded and the recording will be sent to the IB board for evaluation. Your granddaughter stepped out of the car looking rather pale, 30 minutes later she emerged from the front entrance well let’s just say she appeared to be floating. Experiences are in no way a match for an explanation. There simply are no words that can teach the experience she had that afternoon. The day before she planned on reciting to me once and thought she would be prepared for the next day. Well, once turned into many, many, many performances. You see she wasn’t allowed to have a script, so each time was a little different tweaking a word here, a phrase there until she felt comfortable all the while aware that she needed to be timed for ten minutes. At one point, the best advice came unexpectedly from her brother walking through the room- “speak slowly to fill the time”. Actually, he was right on more than one level, we listen more closely when someone takes their time, uses intonation, and creates a rhythm to draw you in to really hear what they are expressing. Speaking is an art form.  Amongst other lessons, she learned 10 minutes can be a blink in time or an eternity given your preparation or lack thereof.

  Earlier that day I was walking and stretching my neck when I caught a glimpse of pink just as I had been thinking how green everything looked. There was absolutely not a pink petal from the earlier blossoms to be found on a tree or the ground. The view had completely changed so quickly, there is so much more growth both on land and in the water. But as I was caught in that thought, I looked up and saw a spec of pink that upon closer inspection turned out to be one more pink blossom. It was a tiny gift right at the moment that I was wistful for that path full of pink we had for a few weeks. Raising children and watching them grow into teens and young adults often feel the same way. They turn their head or express something in that endearing way and you catch a glimpse of who they were when they were younger and memory fills you up as though it were today.

  I have been reading a book, “You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey” by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar off and on as it is an easy read written by a comedian who is hilarious but the content I have found to be overwhelming if I read too much at a time. Given the topic of racism as she and her sister have experienced I once again thought I am in a position to be able to put the book and its subject down and walk away for a given time. The stories are at once hilarious, unbelievable, and heartbreaking. I will never understand or feel in the same way that these two authors have experienced but I am trying my best to learn more and become more educated on the role I play in this life and society. This vantage point I have is on a path that has and hopefully will continue to show me undiscovered treasures around each curve. Sometimes mundane, some heartbreaking and unfair, sometimes failing but always learning and doing my best to come from a place of love.

  We have been talking and planning to do more outdoor cooking and grilling over the next few months. Your granddaughter has been researching and tagging some new recipes for us to experiment with. In the meantime, she gave the gift of Mini Hot Dogs to her brother and dad who so loved every bit of this recipe.

Talk Soon,

Forever Yours

Quote:

“Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.”

President Barack Obama

American politician and attorney

44th President of the United States

Born August 4, 1961