Elders...

There is now a hole in my life.  It is the space inhabited by the elders of our families, to whom we by rights should show our respect for having survived the things they did, having lived good lives, and having been models of what was good about the previous generations.  I am now a Baby Boomer who has lost both of my parents.  Are there still elders in my life?  Of course, but not the ones who gave me birth,  patched my skinned knees until I learned to do it for myself, and fed me until I could feed myself - on all levels.  Many times, they taught simply by asking questions that made me think for myself - developing those all important problem-solving skills that we all recognize now as so important.

So, this is all new. I now have the wings that come from having verbally loved my mother with the words, "It's ok for you to go.  We are all going to be alright, and I will love love you forever and ever."  Those are hard-earned wings, I'm telling you.  But I will never regret any time that I spent with her in her later years, and I will never have to worry that I should have done more, because I know that I did as much as I could do, given every circumstance that I had to balance.

What a wise lady she was!