Glad I kept out the Christmas ornaments…so that Mother Nature could add a magnificent New Year flocking to their beauty. Starting 2021 with joyful delight!
Today as we honor the start of National Family Caregivers Month and the day of all Saints—we reflect on the overlap of themes and give gratitude for those in our past who selflessly provided for our daily needs or guided us to step up to the potential we might never had recognized or attained.
It is our opportunity to offer service as caregiver and saint by compassionately opening ourselves to give emotional or physical care to family or those in our community, to smile with our eyes while passing others in our mask, and to listen with kindness to others who express differing views or we perceive as unkind.
https://hopegrows.net/news/what-is-national-family-caregivers-month
National Day of Encouragement! Who can you uplift with your text, email, call? Especially in this time of pandemic and natural disasters, your simple act will brighten a spirit or warm a heart. I enCOURAGE you to good health and belly laughter by sharing my brussels sprout vegan taco with you!
Coraggio! books celebrate the courage of maternal ancestors. On the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment’s clearing a right for women to vote, applauding all courageous women, and spotlighting Sojourner Truth, who, once freed from slavery, fought to secure the freedom of all slaves and the right for women to vote. Grateful Michigan provided refuge for her fearless, tireless efforts!
Stirred by images of my beautiful mother and her guitar…singing, singing, singing…a message of social justice from her soul through the late 60s and 70s. Songs “Has Anybody Here Seen My Old Friends Abraham, Martin, and John”, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” passionately intoned to urge peace and love.
She had witnessed the brutality of racism and combat’s destruction in WWII Europe and felt an obligation to use the means she had—her song–vowing not to stop until the world was rid of prejudice and war. Her ardent example compels you and me to use the means we have each day to promote peace and the valuing of all lives.
Memorial Day amid the loss of lives, jobs, and property due to pandemic deepens our sense of loss as consequence of war. With heightened awareness we give gratitude to those who served, and for those who suffered the collateral loss of loved ones, businesses, and homes, yet courageously rebuilt lives and serve as much needed examples of the resiliency we need today.
Photo: My mother, grandmother, and aunt, forever displaced from their Hungarian estate; Trier, Germany 1945.
Note mortal shell damage on background building.
About the Author
Lisa Gigliotti is an attorney who has lived for more than twenty-five years with severe rheumatoid arthritis and serious myasthenia gravis. Through those years’ thirteen major surgeries and use of a wheelchair Lisa has maintained a fulfilling and positive life.
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