Generation to Generation?
Finding meaning in the circle of life.
The other day I had one of those "moments" that come out of the realm of the unexpected. I should have been prepared, but, as with most of us, I was not.
On December 4th, my small family gathered to celebrate my mom's 95th birthday. My mom has emerged from an October hospital stay in not-so-great a state. Her dementia is accelerating and she is now in skilled nursing. The change in her abilities within this calendar year has been staggering. Now in a wheelchair, she carries on.
So, on the 4th, I picked her up at her nursing facility and drove to a very close restaurant, one of her favorites, to share the celebration. The highlight for her was being with her 19-month-old great granddaughter. My mom’s face lights up when this little girl appears.
We ordered some lunch and fell into the usual family dialogue. The food came and it became obvious that, after a while, my mom needed some help. So, I leaned over, cut up some of her lunch and helped her eat.
As I did this, I looked up to see my daughter trying to help the baby do the same thing. In a moment, a life cycle! There was a 19-month-old learning how to eat on her own, next to the 95-year-old, trying to remember how to eat.
For some reason, this moment struck me. Around that table at that moment was another scene of generation to generation. The Book of Ecclesiastes rang true, one generation passes as one comes and “there is nothing new under the sun.”
I am sure many of you have had a similar experience. There is something mystical, even spiritual, about such moments. They remind us of life's fragility, its limits and, in a way, push us to keep in mind that the time we have on earth is not to be wasted. It is also a not-so-subtle reminder that relationships, especially across the generations in a family, are to be treasured.
December seems to be a time that our society tries to remind itself of such emotions. Between Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwaanza, families emerge as a powerful theme and generational bonding is in the forefront of experience. Sadly, by January, a lot of this is forgotten, or stored away until next December!
So, a wish: Take the time to treasure the moments and the memories you are creating. Don't let them be packed away, but celebrate them and honor them throughout the year.
Shalom
