Something true

A child I love, one of my nieces (not the one in dental school) is facing a storm none of us saw coming, and since I cannot write about it without compromising her privacy, and it is the thing that is absolutely central to my thoughts right now, I am unable to write anything that feels true.

Well, here is something true: My daughter arrives home tonight for Thanksgiving, and my niece (the one in dental school) arrives tomorrow by midday, and my cousin from Trinidad is already here, and another arrives from Boston tomorrow night, and my niece is bringing a friend and one of my son's friends from college will also be coming through so we have a full house for Thanksgiving, all except for my cousin from Maryland and her two daughters, who are usually here with us at this time and who I will miss with a fierce ache.

Pray for this child I love. Pray for the doctors who have to figure out what is wrong. Even those of you who don't believe in a particular religious dogma, please pray, because what is prayer but the force of so many good thoughts coming together to help shape our malleable universe? And to dear Brittany who told me last week that I should read Brain On Fire, thank you. It was a clue, telling us how and where to put our attention.

Here's a picture of my kids from Thanksgiving last year. My son is at his EMT class as I write this taking a midterm exam. He got his terrorism awareness first responder certification from the department of Homeland Security last week. I know because I saw the certificate with his name lying on his desk.