Friday, December 24, 2010

Love One Another

As an infant, my mother was adopted.  Her own mother had died and her father had three older children to care for so he allowed my then childless Grandma and Grandpa to adopt her.  They kept in touch and when Mom was 16, she met her family.  The great thing was that I grew up with three grandpas!
As a small child, Mom and her mom and dad moved around a bit, even spending some time in Florida.  When they returned, they lived in an area of Cincinnati helping their family to run a hotel.  While there, Mom’s best friend and playmate was a young black child.  It was there that the seeds of racial understanding began to grow and later influence my family.  Growing up, Mom and Daddy instilled in us a love for all people, no matter race, color, or creed.
That lesson came back again last night – and what better timing than in the last hours before Christmas!  Mom and I had done a little shopping and stopped at Frisch’s for dinner where Steve joined us.  As we waited for Steve, our server, a beautiful young black woman by the name of Katrina welcomed us and took our drink order.  In the conversation I told Katrina that Mom is 94 and she very kindly gave Mom a little hug and told her that her own grandmother is 97 but doesn’t move around nearly as well.  At that, Mom smiled and told her about her friend from her childhood.
Steve arrived and we ate our meal and as we were leaving, Katrina was working at the station by our path.  She warmly wished us a good evening and a merry Christmas and as if as one thought, she and Mom both reached for each other and gave each other a hug and kiss.  I thanked her for her kindness and wished her a merry Christmas too. 
It brings tears to my eyes even now as I think about it.  She had told us earlier how blessed we were, not realizing she was one of those blessings.
So, as you go off to enjoy your Christmas festivities or any other holiday that you celebrate, please remember that the most important thing of all is to love one another.

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