Gratitude for a yesteryear’s strength in weakness

Experience has taught me it only takes one adult to be seriously and consistently devoted to a child’s development and they prosper.

It’s no credit to me that I was blessed with two.

~

As I looked at this report from December 1973 it struck me what was going on at the time in my family.  My parents had lost my sister only about 11 weeks beforehand—stillbirth by sudden cord prolapse.  They would still have been in such shocking grief.

As a young child, I was always a “daydreamer” and yet I wonder if some of the “extremely short concentration span” was part of my inner world as I would have no doubt been grieving along with my younger brother as Mum and Dad grieved.  I was “very shy” in this report and the fact that I didn’t like to participate may shed some light into what was going on in my young mind and heart in that season of life.

At this point, 49 years on, I would love to step back and pat the boy, his brother, and his Mum and Dad on the back for simply getting on with life despite their tragic loss.

When we endure loss, we don’t have any other choice.

If only I could step back in my adult body and mind and spend just five minutes there, I’d thank that mother and father for doing their best.  I’d hug that little boy and his even littler brother.  I’d empathise for their isolation—1,500 kilometres from nearest family.  I’d say to the mother and father that what they’re doing right now with their two boys is a faithfulness beyond human compare.  I’d urge them on, to endure the darker days the best they can and to enjoy sweeter times.  I’d thank them, promising them that all of what they’re presently doing is working out and will work out—that it’s enough.  I’d tell them that they will have their rainbow baby—my littlest brother, who will be born exactly 53 weeks after this report was written/issued.  I’d implore the mother and father to continue to have faith, and I sense that that was what they were doing for their family.

~

We don’t spend enough time going back and thanking younger versions of ourselves and others for hanging in there during the tougher times we endured.  But we can do that today.

Nostalgia is a good exercise for gratitude.