Feb. 11, 2003 - 16:34 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Each Of You

Oldest son some of your Mother's Dad shows up in you. Your handiness with tools your method of planning things out before you start work, your habit of building things. Your integrity as great as his. Your devoted fatherhood.

Oldest daughter, although you show the love of family and things like that you have earlier in life suffered and consequently have been really unable to truly communicate with us. You have the sunny disposition though that your Mother has and are happy.

Next daughter in age, you have made your dream come true. All you ever wanted was to grow up, get married and raise a family and you have done famously at that. So much of both your Grandmothers shines through you. Like both Grandmothers you have the almost magic knack of calming, soothing and pacifying the young from babies on up.

Youngest son, your artistry comes from your mother, your industry from both Grandfathers and your love of family is our trait collectively. You are one who stuck by and helped raise your daughters from a distance, never wavering, a true father.

Baby Boo, you who will be forty this year, who has a teen age son and a ten age daughter. Who keeps house neat as a pin and keeps your family happy have pretty well followed the path that Heather's brother followed. You earned the money to go through and graduate college and you did so. In many ways I see both your Grandmothers reflected in your way of life. You are always working at something. If ever a Mother is like her Grandmothers it is you. Your work in charities shows the traits you inherited from your mother. Your artistry and skill with your hands comes from your Mom and her Mom too.

Heather and I helped a bit here and there, but each of you are the person you made yourself with the talents and philosophy you were born with, and honed with the sharp stone of life's problems.

Do I love you ? Like Tevya's wife in Fiddler On The Roof who sings a song that starts out, "Do you love me ?" and goes on at length about her cooking, washing, ironing and all the other things that a loving wife does, in essence saying, "Sure I do man, wouldn't have stuck around otherwise." Oh yes, I love you, each and every one of you to the very depth of my soul.

There is family peeking out of each of you, a turn of a head, a laugh just as your Grandpa or Grandma had at just the right spots. All of you, your willingness to live and let live without obsessing about things. You are all so different, yet I see ancestors coming through Each Of You . . . . . . . .

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