|
dcnovice -> RE: Hillary's E-Mails (4/3/2015 8:36:45 PM)
|
FR
The "it takes a village" subplot has set me to thinking about my own childhood.
From a "traditional family" perspective, I was hugely blessed: loving, devout mother and father, still married after 52 years; three squabbling siblings who've matured into awesome adults; smart, funny grandparents who helped gave a shy, nerdy kid some confidence; fascinating aunts and uncles who listened and offered wise counsel when I couldn't connect with the folks; and 18 cousins, some of whom are among my dearest friends today.
With all that, who'd need a village, right? Well actually, I did. My life was hugely enriched by all sorts and conditions of fellow villagers:
-- the priests at church,
-- teachers,
-- Scout leaders,
-- volunteer coaches for the swim team,
-- neighbors who gave me odd jobs that helped me pay my way to Boy Scout camp,
-- school bus drivers who saw us safely there and back again,
-- employees in our family business who helped me see life from new and different perspectives,
-- friends' parents who gave us safe places to be kids and drove us to practice and swim meets,
-- volunteer firefighters who helped keep us safe and trained me in CPR,
-- parental volunteers who ran bake sales and rummage sales and clothing drives and blood drives to help meet needs in the community,
-- local merchants who bought ads in school yearbooks, underwrote Christmas decorations on our version of Main Street, and sponsored Little League teams,
-- neighbors who quietly appeared with casseroles and snow shovels in times of need,
-- folks who bought Girls Scout cookies, Sally Foster gift wrap, cartons of fruit, and God knows what else to support community activities,
-- neighboring families who welcomed us into their homes and lives and celebrations, exposing us to other traditions and ways of looking at life, and
-- the many folks I'm forgetting.
I'm glad I grew up in a family.
And, hell yes, I'm glad I grew up in a village too.
|
|
|
|
