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Our extended family...

4/17/2020

10 Comments

 
For parents everywhere, a phone call or text from our children can brighten our day. This is especially true since the outbreak of the coronavirus. 

With my three sons in the New York City area and my daughter close by in Connecticut, the 1,200 miles that separate us can feel like an impossible divide. Travel by road or air or train is not a possibility. I want to be with them, and yet I cannot. But isn't that true for you as well, irrespective of where your children might live? None of us can hug our loved ones as we have in the past. 

It is almost as though the virus has changed our way of being family and in the process, we have discovered a much larger group of kin. It has opened our eyes to the caregivers around us - the nurses and doctors, the police and firefighters, the volunteers at the food line, and so many more. We see them a little differently now, for we realize that they are our lifeline, our extended family. 

We watch the news and fight our tears and wonder if tomorrow will bring more of the same. It feels like we are caught in a loop that we cannot escape, but then we see it - life. Robins tugging on worms, squirrels darting to and fro, and eagles soaring high. Life - we notice it now and we want more.     

Two days ago, my eldest son sent me a text that warmed my heart, and that is why I thought you might appreciate it as well. The story he relays is ours as well. Though the circumstances are different, each of us is discovering how to care for our extended family - in this new way of experiencing our life.  
                                                           _   _   _   _   _   _   _

Just wanted to share some of the work we've been doing to lend a hand to people on the front lines of the pandemic. To date Calexico has delivered well over a thousand free meals to hospitals throughout the city, and this morning we just formalized the program and opened it up for donations from the public. You can see more on our website: www.calexico.com. 
10 Comments
john howell link
4/18/2020 11:08:23

Glad your boys are doing well, Gwen. Seems they are helping others as well.

Reply
Gwen Plano
4/18/2020 17:42:58

Thank you, John. They warm my heart. ♥

Reply
Jan Sikes
4/18/2020 17:03:00

These boys obviously inherited their mother's generous and kind spirit. Thank you for sharing, Gwen. I am so fortunate that my two daughters both live within ten miles of me. I thank God every day!

Reply
Gwen Plano
4/18/2020 17:44:04

You are so fortunate, Jan. Hug them extra tight for me. Thank God, indeed! ♥

Reply
D.L. Finn
4/19/2020 02:36:25

Thanks, Gwen:) Your son's text and deeds brightened my day.

Reply
Gwen Plano
4/19/2020 16:21:57

Thank you, dear Denise. Big hugs! ♥

Reply
Suzanne Burke link
4/19/2020 02:45:25

My. dear friend, thank you for sharing this post. You are deservedly proud of your children, how marvelous to see them united in spirit with so many others. I'm so blessed to live with my darling daughter and grandson. The world keeps on turning and I'm so very grateful for each new sunrise. United we stand, my friend. ❤

Reply
Gwen Plano
4/19/2020 16:21:19

Ahhh, you're so sweet, Sooz. Yes, united we stand. Big hugs. ♥

Reply
Vashti Q link
4/25/2020 17:12:05

That's a very cool thing your boys did, Gwen. My brother is a doctor working in the front lines, and I worry for him everyday. This sweet and generous gesture warms my heart. Thanks for sharing! <3 xo

Reply
mark bierman link
5/23/2020 07:05:58

It is a starnge world indeed, Gwen. The fact that your sons are among the "helpers" proves that you have raised them well!

Reply



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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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