Remembrance....

I often talk of missing home. Never do those feelings rise more strongly than in times of celebration and times of struggle.  Times when I want more than anything to be close to the people I love and care about.  December has turned into a month mixed with both celebration and struggle.

My entire immediate family celebrates their birthdays this month, as well as Ryan and some friends. The holidays are approaching as well, with them coming all the parties and opportunities to come together. Each year I love the holidays more and more as I find the way I want to celebrate it rather than getting caught up in the buying and excess that often accompanies the season.  I am quite lucky this year to have my mom and brother visit for Christmas.  They arrive in just over a week and we get to spend time in Salzburg.  I really cannot contain my excitement to see them.  My relationship with both of them has really evolved over the last few years, we are much closer than we were.   I am so excited to see them and it's in just over a week!

Contrary to all this, death looms large at this time of year. One year ago my grandmother passed away unexpectedly and then brother of a dear friend.  I received a package this afternoon from my mom with this star ornament.  As a note:

To honor the first year of a loved ones dies, Japanese tradition is to give family members a small, simple gift to acknowledge the sadness of the day and to take comfort in the memories we have.  It also signals the time for us to truly move forward with our own life.  It makes sense to me.  This star reminds me of mom.  Simple, plain, and most of all, inexpensive.  I think she would have liked it.

Thank you mom.  I agree, she definitely would have liked it.

Most recently, my friend Natalie and her husband, Joe, made the decision this afternoon to take their baby off life support. I was not fortunate enough to meet Adrianna, she was just six weeks old. Natalie and Joe are two really amazing and loving people and I can only imagine the wonderful parents they have made. I have witnessed all that is happening from such a great distance, but even from here I am seeing the love and support they inspire, the sense of community and coming together.

For anyone wanting to find out more about Adrianna and the Reads there has been a site set up here.   Their family is wanting love and support.  That could look like keeping them in your thoughts, signing in to their guest book to let them know you are thinking of them, or donating to help cover costs so they don't have to stress about expenses.  I have also included a link in my sidebar.   Natalie and Joe, my love goes out to you now.  

If you have a blog/website and want to spread the word about the Read's then feel free to copy and paste this code. It will post the tab I have designed in my sidebar and link back to the Adrianna Read website.

Copy and paste the code below to spread the word:
<a href="http://www.adriannaread.com" target="blank"><img border="1" width="140" src="http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267/tanzenchic/screen-capture-1-2.jpg"/></a>