Advent Gratitude December 16

One of ours is socially isolating upstairs after some of her school friends tested positive. To cheer her up I got her an early Christmas present of a teach yourself knitting kit. By an accident of credit cards I ordered two. Her friend down the street is in the same boat, and she asked me to take the second kit to her friends house and drop it through the letter box.

It was 3:30 when I went out. At the school across the street, parents were waiting in a long line, holding their umbrellas, picking up their kids one by one. As I walked up the block I thought about the years I did that and what it has meant to raise a family in a neighbourhood- how lucky I have been.

I grew up in Los Angeles, a collection of suburbs linked by cars. It was hard to have a sense of community. Now I have lived in the same two mile radius for twenty years and walked it every single day. More often than not I run into someone I know. Even when I don’t know them I feel an interest in those around me – like the parents waiting by the school on the street where I raised my kids. Surrounded by millions of strangers I feel at home. For that gift I am grateful.