It's been some time since I last penned a blog entry. The truth is this...our family has had one hell of a year due to our parents' near-fatal car accident a number of months ago. It's changed everything in ways that none of us could have possibly imagined, and has caused me to grow in ways that I didn't realize were possible.
The gift of course, is that our parents are alive and moving forward. We are immensely blessed because without the miracle they received, truly, they wouldn't be with us this Thanksgiving or at all. We're still shaking our heads as to how they did survive, but trust me, we're not going to ask too many questions but rather, love the heck out of our parents even more now, and with all of our hearts.
What's astonishing to me is that when trauma hits, we all (as humans) react and respond so differently, don't we? Everyone steps up or is forced to push themselves beyond what they dreamed was possible when the Universe asks us to. I'll say this...through the long dark days of fear and then recovery, I'd never felt such a state of calm and the knowing that something much greater than I was feeding me energy and substance. It's hard to put into words, but it was real. As real as sitting here writing these words.
As time has moved on, our family has found great comfort in remembering and using the gift of humor we all seem to have been given. Even in the toughest moments, we leaned in and laughed with one another. I imagine that as the years pass and our family reflects back on the accident and it's meaning or significance to each of us, what we'll remember the most is the profound love we have for one another and our gift of humor.
Now, even the fall light looks different to me this year...I continue snapping photos of precious moments when the suns' rays reflect abundantly upon vibrant red tree leaves. I'm stopped in my tracks during long runs through my neighborhood and can't help but try to capture the beauty before it's gone.
In spite of the accident, life's abundance has continued to arrive and I've had some terrific experiences related to my work as a freelance food writer, along with the joys that come from an expanded network of celiac advocacy work...which I'll be writing about this month and beyond. Life truly does "bloom" where you're planted if you recognize it and say "yes" to all that shows up.
When we sit down at the table this coming week for Thanksgiving, our focus will be on the tremendous thanks we share as a family that is still intact, and mostly for the monumental blessing of our parents' lives.
What they say in song is really true, in the end, it really does all come down to love.
Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!
