Holidays

The Pouring Out Of Our Lives

by Terry Barlow
08/27/16
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Recently we had a little social gathering in our small cul de sac neighborhood.  (Some one said "cul de sac" is just a fancy way of saying "dead end."  Don't know about that, I might beg to differ,  especially in this case.)  We were celebrating the birth of a healthy baby among other things.  Periodically we have gathered like this for almost thirty years because we enjoy each others' company and seem to be an exceptionally amicable and stationary (but not static or stagnant) set of neighbors, as neighbors seem to go.  The fellowship we share cuts across generational, racial, professional and political lines, even incorporating several regional accents.

But what set this particular gathering apart was the fact that the older couple that organized and hosted it was the least able physically to do so.  Though they shuffle about on walkers getting up and down with some difficulty, they were the ones with the determination to make the event happen, determination that the rest of us may have lacked no matter how much younger or stronger.  We were all somewhat awed and inspired by the couple's hospitality however, such that some of us pitched in as we could and made it a successful and delightful corporate effort.  Many seemed not to want to leave at the designated time, and so they didn't, and that was ok too.

Another factor that set this gathering apart was that one neighbor attended who had always for years declined our invitations.  She came and fit right in with the rest of us as if to ask, "What in the world have I been waiting for?"  That was just another part of the celbration.  These events are becoming more precious to us because as the group graciously, and perhaps in some cases not so graciously,  ages, we don't know how many more of these occasions we will have with "all present and accounted for."  We count it more and more of a privilege to keep each other's company and hear each other's expanding stories in this way.

I understand that there's a park in Singapore where bird owners gather periodically and display there various birdcages and, in some cases, elaborate bird dwellings.  "Is that what it's about then, showing off bird homes?" Someone asked.  "Not primarily,"  came the reply, "it's more of an opportunity for the birds to learn and be enriched by each other' songs."   And probably their owners as well!  I feel similarly enriched when we neighbors so congregate!  It's encouraging that the impact that we may feel powerless to achieve on a national or international basis, can nevertheless in some ways still be achieved locally in our various neighborhoods and communities, and through some of our "intermediate institutions" as one noted cultural observer remarked early on in our own story as a nation and as a people.