When we add a new member to our family….
(as we just did with a daughter-in-law)
I admit to being amazed,
astonished,
in wonder
and in awe…
Because…and I can’t explain it…
I only know it is tender,
engaging
and sweet
How there is love we never know is sleeping in our hearts
that is awakened the moment we meet.
The wedding ceremony is over…
to the world we’ve added a new husband and wife.
The cabin has returned to normal and everyone’s gone back to their life.
As I sit on the porch in the quiet..watching birds at the feeder…I’m enthralled
as the trees continue to change color and their leaves continue to fall…
I once believed when it came to humans…
across the oceans…across time…across history…
every person everywhere was part of the one and only human family tree.
A tree that’s constantly changing in its effort to grow strong and tall
Welcoming new buds in Spring…to replace the leaves they’ve lost in the fall.
But sitting here among a multitude of trees…
noticing the distinct branches, limbs and leaves…
I’m thinking of the world a little differently…altering what I once believed.
What if every human family is part of their own distinct family tree
whether they’re evergreen…or lose their leaves in the Fall….
and what if under all these different family trees…it’s the roots that connect us all.
Which means we all share what gives us life…allowing each and every family tree
knowing we are all connected…to retain our individuality.
What if we’re meant to share between us…the sun, the rain, the drops of morning dew
our buds, our branches our leaves and our limbs as all trees were created to do.
Which brings me to the reason for this poem…to Trista…Damiens wife
Perhaps the most beautiful words you will ever hear…
or, if you’re reading this…will see
Are:
We love you…and we’re overjoyed to welcome you to our family tree.
As I sit on the porch in the quiet watching the birds feed and the colors of Autumn fall
I can already see how this new leaf makes our family tree a little brighter…
and I can’t help but be enthralled.
May we be blessed
to enjoy every moment we can with our children
and our grandchildren
enjoy every moment….before…
We turn around one day and realize…
they are not children or grandchildren any more.
It’s funny what went through my mind…the joy….the wonder….the pride
when I looked into the eyes of my grandson,
as he looked into the eyes of his bride.
As I watched this wonderful young man…I found it difficult to understand….
where all the time has gone since I could pick him up…
and carry him with one hand?
Since I took him for walks in his stroller….
and pointed out all the things there were to see.
When did this little boy I use to cradle…
become taller and wiser than me?
I still see that same smile…that same eagerness…
that same innocence and joy
as I saw in him every time I picked him up when he was a little boy.
But gone are the days I could pick him up…
or tuck him into bed snug as a bug in a rug
Those times I would carry him around the house when he visited
have been replaced with a ‘Hi PopPop” and a hug.
Oh I am not complaining…everything is great…it’s wonderful…it’s good.
Life has moved on as it is meant to move on…as it always should.
But as I stood there watching Damien marry the love of his life….
when I heard the wedding bell chime….
I thought back and wondered how great it would be
If I could pick him up with one hand
and carry him…
one more time.
May we all be blessed to find the kind of love…
that’s filled with understanding, compassion and support…
Which becomes one long and beautiful conversation
that in the end will always seem too short
I co-officiated a three generation wedding yesterday…
My son Bryan co-officiated with me….
and since it was my grandsons wedding…
in terms of generations that makes three.
The wedding was at our cabin in the mountains…
still cherished by the Cherokee.
The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome
The weather was as fine as it could be
I’ve been blessed to live a life…that has had less valleys and more peaks…
and to have made the kind of memories…as the Cherokee say:
speak out of my eyes and cascade down my cheeks.
Under a blue sky dappled with the colors of autumn It was a truly beautiful day…
and I added a host more to an already wonderful array.
I’ll remember getting our cabin ready for the wedding…
Our son Ryan and his wife Amy…helped us to believe…
we could turn our driveway into a wedding chapel
under the trees…with a carpet of fallen leaves.
I’ll remember one dog in a tuxedo…and another in a flowered lei.
I’ll remember Ali, our daughter and Damien’s Mom’s tears on his wedding day.
I’ll remember the faces of Trista and Damien…as they looked into each other’s eyes…
I’ll remember how Bryan helped to make them laugh…while I innocently made them cry.
I’ll remember all the people who came…how Sofia, Damien’s sister rang the wedding bell…
I’ll remember when it was over…thinking how everything went so well.
As I sit back now to write this poem…
I’m trying hard to remember everything…every detail that was important to me.
replaying them over and over again…so they will remain etched in my memory.
So years from now…when I think about this day…
when it’s this day’s memories I seek….
they will speak happily out of my eyes
as they cascade gently down my cheeks.
I cannot begin to understand the agony, the heartache…the pain
of the people who lost so much in the recent hurricanes.
We see first-hand or on TV what’s happened…but can we really comprehend…
the grief…when the wind and water take a house…a family member…a friend?
For those of us who survived the storm…and have reasons to be glad…
the next sunrise doesn’t seem as beautiful…
when the last sunrise left so many feeling so sad.
When the color has been swept out of our world…
turning everything a muddy grey
when nothing seems to make sense…
what can make our sadness go away?
Certainly we are encouraged when we see strangers helping strangers…
Realizing we are all one family…does make our hearts feel warm…
But I wonder….
Will a sunrise ever be as beautiful as it was before the storm?
