Charles Moore writes:
"As a child, I could never put the holiday and the purpose of giving thanks together. Aunt Dorie would come drunk and weep at the table. No one ever knew why, and no one asked. Grandpa refused to speak to Grandma. My older brother showed his face only at the meal. Otherwise, he was conspicuously absent. In trying to make everything perfect, Mom would always have a migraine, and Dad would be steaming because Mom didn’t feel well. All the while, the Detroit Lions stormed our living room, making it impossible for anyone to do anything except sneak as many hors d’oeuvres as possible." Bruderhof Community Daily Dig
11/17/05
Sometimes just being present with our families during the holidays is all that is required. We don’t have to like them. We don’t have to change them. We just show up with our presence. In some inexplicable way, our families are honored and the fifth commandment — "Honor your father and mother" — is kept.
