"Brothers!" He calls after them. As if he lives in a monastery, my mom laughs. "Brothers, wait up!" All day long the sacred word is intoned. That is the brothers' room, the brothers' school. Not just from the youngest looking up. The oldest gathers his confreres with a single summons: "Brothers! Time for dinner!" All three rush - sliding laughing elbowing - into the dining room, jockeying for position in whatever they've declared is the best seat in the house tonight. End result is always the same. One crows with delight at victory, one stews with simmering resentment, one shrugs that he'll get his way tomorrow. (When the squabbling is settled, someone will declare that once the baby is old enough, then All Four Brothers will sit on the bench together.) "We are the Best Brothers Brigade," they sang all summer before the smallest was born. For weeks they walked around the house together, skinny arms draped over three sets of shoulders, smiling as they'd turn corners … [Read more...] about the blessing (and wound) of brothers
blessing
a prayer for a new school year
My kids are off to school this week, and I've been busy behind-the-scenes with writing projects I can't wait to share very soon! In the meantime, here is a prayer for all of us in the midst of transition: to a new season, a new schedule, or a new school year. A prayer to God who guides us all. You are Alpha and Omega. Bless the end of our summer and the beginning of our fall. You are Abba Father and Rabbi Teacher. Bless our homes and our schools, our families and our communities. You are Wisdom of the Ages and Beauty Ever-New. Bless our study of the past and our dreaming of the future. You are the Creator and the Word. Bless our building and designing, our reading and writing. You are counter of our hairs and caretaker of the sparrows. Bless our big and small decisions, our light and heavy worries. You are healer and reconciler. Bless our bumps and bruises, our fights and failings. You are the sower of seeds and the reaper of … [Read more...] about a prayer for a new school year
presentation
My babies were each a few days old when I placed them in their great-grandfather's hands. Seated each time on the same couch in my in-laws' living room, he and I gazed down together at the peaceful beauty of a sleeping child. Their bodies hardly noticed the transfer from arm to arm: heads simply flopped from one side to the other, limbs still curled in newborn C. Their soft cheeks snuggled into his thick flannel shirt; their pink toes dangled over his old corduroy pants. But the move to me seemed monumental. From one generation to the next, a stretch across time. I have no grandparents of my own left. So the gift of Grandpa in my life has been a reminder of these figures from my childhood: one grandma's hug, another's warm smile, my own grandpa's deep guffaw. Their faces and stories rise in my memory when we visit Grandpa. Behind thick glasses, his eyes beamed as he welcomed each new great-grandson. "Teeny, teeny baby," he cooed, patting their backs with a rough, weathered … [Read more...] about presentation
to comfort and to challenge
Hanging next to our front door is this Irish woodcut print with the prayer below: God, keep my jewel this day from danger From tinker and pooka and black-hearted stranger From harm of the water and hurt of the fire From the horns of the cows going home to the byre From teasing the ass when he's tied to the manger From stone that would bruise and from thorns of the briar From evil red berries that waken desire From hunting the gander and vexing the goat From depths o' sea water by Danny's old boat From cut and from tumble - from sickness and weeping May God have my jewel this day in his keeping I have always loved this blessing (aside from the dated language) and the image that accompanies it, because I think it speaks to the heart of parenting: the competing desires to protect your child from the dangers of the world and to push him out to explore its beauty. The mother stands watching, waiting; you can almost feel her anxious restraint as she holds back from removing every obstacle … [Read more...] about to comfort and to challenge
