A few thoughts on family:
The Resilience of Weeds
I remember as a child when school started the week after Labor Day when hot Summer air gave way to a cool near Autumn breeze as fog clung to earth like an early warning sign of things to come. I recall freshly refinished hard wood floors, eraser dust, and new bought clothes fresh off the rack from J.C. Penney. Smoke from burning leaves on small town streets, pumpkin patches full with Fall color, and corn stalks gathered in tripod shaped arrangements. I remember dragging a paper sack along dew covered lawns on Holloween, and losing all the accumulated candy gathered as a beggar on front door steps. There were parades of ghouls, and every kind of costumed character. One year I went as Evel Kneival in a star studded helmet, and boots.
Now, I'm a child of Summer; the only one of my siblings born in July along with my Grandma Bea who baked the best pies ever! I still sit, and enjoy her grandmother clock chime away the hours, and tic-toc the seconds as she used to share stories from her childhood. We are a family of deep roots, and "strong stock" as some people say about their lineage. As resilient as weeds growing up between cracks in sidewalks or among the rockiest landscapes at the base of mountaintops. We endure hard times, and cherish those moments like a wedding or a weekend camping out in some remote neck of the woods. Days, and years pass as the seasons bring every manner of weather imaginable; sunshine, rainfall, fog, and a rare blizzard noone living then will ever forget. The winter of 1978 is one of them. I remember losing a Grandfather then on a frigid January morning; his essence remains deep within me like a campfire on a starry night.
Now, on occasion I may quote a verse from scripture, or take note of a line from an infamous poet, but you will always find an original thought designed to spark a part of your soul that reaches deep inside to draw out the best in you. But I will never suggest an ill conceived notion to put you down, or treat you less than human. I am my father's son, my mother's child, and a brother, but we do not need to share blood to be a neighbor, co-worker, or best friend. I will always be there to lend a helping hand, or provide a shoulder to lean upon.
I am that resilent weed coming back from beneath the concrete to greet you. Though my roots may seems loosely attached at times, my soul runs deep within a belief
that God is with us no matter what, and family keeps us closer than anything. We just need to learn to love one another each day.
And so, as Fall creeps in on this overcast September morning, I give a piece of my essence to you who may be suffering, or in need of something positive to read apart from all the bad news waiting on your doorstep. Like a pair of humming birds hovering above me this morning on my front porch, I will always be a voice you can count on to reflect the resilience of weeds; even when an Autumn breeze makes you shiver with the thought of dark days, and stormy nights in Winter.
God Bless you all!
D.A. Wittler 9/7/19
