It’s a day to honor the military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.  I think of my father, my husband’s father, my uncle, cousin, grandfather, and all the others.  It’s also important to remember those who were here at home, worrying and worried. When my father’s B-17 was shot down, his family at home thought he was dead.  He survived by parachuting into an apple tree where he was turned over to the SS and taken by train to a prison camp.  I’m here because he survived.

And now, a friend informs me of a baby boy about to be born, and sends the icon of a baby chick sitting in a half-shell. I smile at the love we share.

Today this comes from Richard Rohr’s CAC’s Daily Meditations.

Author and activist Liza J. Rankow considers how intergenerational service is the fruit of understanding our universal connection:

“In the subtropical forests of northeastern India, there is a network of living root bridges that traverse the steep terrain across valleys and rivers. Generation after generation, the Indigenous peoples of the region have twisted and woven the aerial roots of giant ficus trees, guiding their growth from one bank of the river to join with roots from the opposite shore. Over decades, the roots become thick and strong enough to walk upon. These bridges can last for centuries but require the tending of each generation, weaving in new young roots to shape and sustain them. When the monsoons come, and gentle streams turn into raging torrents, the bridges hold, and the people can pass safely across them….“

Bell Hooks: “The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression.” “The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.”

We saw that on November 3rd.  Unfortunately we have to wait a bit for the transition, but steps are happening.  We twist and wind our roots to build the bridges we cross.

Yesterday I had a medical appointment for an issue I’ve been dealing with since April, and yesterday on an exquisite day, I learned all is healed.  Gratitude swells around me.