The night winds down Rounds of goodbyes begin Hugs and farewells Drawn out This large family does its goodbyes much like it does everything Loudly, gluttonously and with all our hearts Those who join this family are dragged through The drawn out, long, exhaustive rounds of hugs, kisses, last jabs of the evening They learn to urge the goodbye ceremony to begin hours before they are ready to go This evening is no different Last embraces, goodbyes recapturing, retelling highlights of the day Good thing it will probably only be 12 hours before we all meet again You see it is only Wednesday of our week together So we still have more evenings and days of togetherness But somehow Not consciously But somehow we know we have hit the climax We are standing at the peak Don’t get me wrong there are still plenty of belly laughs fishing excursions deep talks excessive eating harmonies in the glow of crackling fires midnight dips in cleansing waters Yes, there are still piles of moments ahead But Wednesday night comes to a close It will never be again So the goodbyes are drawn out perhaps even a bit longer than usual This night one cousin, new father and old soul Says his goodbye to his mother’s younger brother Hugs Embrace We’ve got 98 more. he says to his uncle Hug still in progress We get together in these sacred mountains each year We come together as family wrapped in imperfect love once a year These are the moments we have together Some years there may be a few more encounters if there is a wedding or funeral But mostly – we have this once We get a few warm hugs out of everyone this week this sacred week we spend together We’ve got 98 more. I guess so if we are blessed to do this for the next 30 years we may get another 98 hugs out of ya all That is a lot to be grateful for As we learn over and over you never know when the last hug will be For the old and frail And for the young and vibrant So savor these hugs I will Hold onto these embraces Breathe in these goodbyes Sorry in-laws – it will take a while Longer that you would like But we’re gonna soak them in Drink them down like gin and tonic on the rocks Get drunk on them and let them fill us up feed us until the next time Making our rounds We may be down to only 97 hugs after tonight We will have used another one up But it will be worth it In its place we will have a few more laughs Some more indelible memories and we take with us a deeper love of these mountains we call family and these people we call home And if we are lucky, We’ve still got 97 more.
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Welcome, little one. Welcome to the Mountains. You are the first of the 7th generation to touch foot, feel the water, smell the air Your mom says this is the furthest journey you have taken in your seven months upon this earth Yes, in more ways than one, It is the furthest. Coming here is like moving through space and time, back through our family story We don’t know it at first As kids it is just fun – Sun Sandcastles Crayfish under rocks Brisk Water Marshmallowy fingers Bear stories Giggles with cousins Mountain climbs Sugar for breakfast, lunch and dinner Shooting stars That’s what we thought made it so special little did we know it ran much deeper through our bones pumping in our veins Late nights around crackling campfires Circles of song Gatherings of love Traditions and treasures Glimpses of truth Hugs from hearts overflowing Midnight swims with generations past Friends who have become family Tears and dancing Etchings on our souls The safety of family knowing they would always be here not that it would always be easy On no! Indeed, we have had more tragedy than I’d like to recall but, and it is a BIG “but” we can always find our way back to the Mountains find our way back to the generations of love, depth and abundance Year after year received back by this sacred land Decade after decade returning to be with these beautiful souls It lifts us and grounds us at the same time up and down all at once waves in a pattern of dichotomy In the mountains we know who we are – stripped of facade, glitter and titles none of that matters here the deep Sacandaga waters wash all the glitter away the evening glow of campfires burn through all façades our names are reduced to “mommy” “sister” “grandson” “cuz” “son” "gram" the only titles we need, the only ones that matter Generation after generation after generation after generation after generation after generation after generation… Built the love that you feel when you are here. It will buoy you keep you afloat when life’s storms are strong It will ground you hold you close when life’s uncertainties linger Welcome little one. Welcome to the Mountains, to your Mountains. They are here for you and they are deep within you. Seven generations deep. |
AuthorSome times I write. Even less than "some" times I share what I write. For those moments that I write and want to share I have done so here. Archives
December 2017
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