Community
Yesterday, I attended a community fundraiser benefiting Paws for Cause. Luckily for our bank account, my husband didn’t attend with us as he views an auction as a competition to be won at all costs. While I did “win” a few items from the silent auction portion of the event, the true wins for me weren’t competitive. For one, I watched my elderly mother fawn all over a beautiful Shepherd named Falco, who is used for apprehension and narcotics detection and has more energy than the Energizer Bunny. Truly, the only time that dog was still was when Mom loved on him and when his handler okayed Mom having her picture taken with Falco. The joy shining in my mother’s face and pulsating through her voice as Falco reminded her of her beloved Lance, a German Shepherd her family had owned when she was a child/early teen. Mom was Lance’s person and the two were inseparable, even sleeping in the same bed. Although, as Lance was quite large, Mom routinely ended up on the floor over staying in the bed.
For another, I was overjoyed to run into a few former students (one from over eighteen years ago) and learning about their lives now. I have to admit that whenever I run into former students outside of school, I can’t promise I will immediately remember their names; but I love that they remember me and want to chat, especially when they tell me what they remember about me and my class. I got to do that last night and, not that I take any credit for the amazing people they have become, I was amazed and awed at the outstanding human beings they were and are still. And for them to walk up to me, apparently happy to see me, means more than I can truly express.
On top of all that, as mine and now my daughter’s lives just get busier and busier (I mean, soon she’ll be out of the house), precious time with her and my mom is a rarity that I treasure. How many more days do I have with either of them? Just getting to spend time, eating, talking, and laughing with each other is an amazing gift. This is community to me.
In my books, that is the community I portray—this idea of finding joy and peace and health in the company of family, friends, and even strangers. It’s shown in the relationships in my books. Tarin and Halicyon, Hil and Tarin, Finn and Kwin, and Syllé and them all. They rely on each other, are strengthened by each other, find comfort in each other’s presence, and always have each other’s back; but not to the exclusion of all others. Their community can expand as the situation and occasion dictate and they welcome friends and strangers because that is community—an ever-expanding and fluctuating system open to all who wish to be included. So, who can you include into yours?