pomp and circumstances...

hello my friends...long time no write...but there are things on my mind today so here i am...

this week seemed to be more about endings than beginnings, but perhaps that's an illusion...a door closing, window opening kind of thing...

my girls graduated on tuesday...as usual, when that music began, and they walked down the aisle in their caps and gowns, i grabbed my tissues...

the class of 2011 chose naomi as their inspirational speaker. i've known naomi a long time, but i've never heard her speak in public...she is not one to take the stage...it was the loveliest of surprises...as she was introduced and made her way to the stage, i caught a glimpse of more than a few peeps getting out their tissues. naomi spoke from her heart (what else). she told the audience that she was a mother of a son who was killed at age 23 by a stranger...she shared what brought her back, so to speak, to life and to work...it was the realization that all children are "our" children...she talked about how important it is to love and accept our children...(something she models everyday with all of us young and old)... she spoke against war and racism, sexism and homophobia, and then she read a poem that her son wrote when he was only 11. it illustrates the kind of boy he was and the kind of parents that raised him... i found the poem online in his handwriting, so i'll reprint it at the end of the post...

some of us knew that naomi would give her notice this week.  things have changed too much around the workplace and she felt it was time to go...we have worked together for years and watched so many young women grow up to be responsible mothers, recycling the love and skills they learned from school with naomi.  when she told the new management that she wouldn't continue at the agency anymore, there was no reaction...i can only imagine that they don't know or want to know who she really is.  if they did, it would be a gigantic deal...there's no one like naomi.  what she brings to the agency is more than any social service organization could wish for...i'm serious...the woman is damn near a saint in my book...but she's leaving...and these people know not what they are losing...

we took the girls out for a graduation lunch...when they left, naomi and i sat and talked about our jobs ending. it was bitter and it was sweet. it doesn't look like the agency will have me back next year.  they say it is about funding...but i don't think that is the whole story...i stood up for what i thought was true, and i guess i did it too loudly...it has been a let down on many levels...not only do i need the consultant money, i need the work...the sense of purpose and community has been a saving grace for me.  so, while we sat at the border books cafe, we shared a moment of fantasy...having our own program, doing the kinds of things we believe are good...not answering to the kind of military management that is now running the show... 

let's see, what else...oh yeah, health report.  i don't feel as much pain in the last few days. i have no idea why or why not, but hooray for that.  i have a pet scan tomorrow so sometime next week i'll know more.  my blood work wasn't great but it could've been woise.  the red blood cell count is low, and all the stuff that goes along with that is low too...maybe that's why i can barely get outta bed sometimes...but i went up to saul's and brought home some chopped liver this afternoon, so that oughta help - right? 

and now oprah's gone from my day to day life.  i loved what she taught on her final show...she spoke about her platform in life,  and that everyone has one, whether small or large, affecting some or many...each of us has our own special energy that can be shared to our highest purpose...

i know that wherever oprah lands, and wherever naomi lands, their work, and their lives, will continue to be a blessing upon us...

 

 if i could change the world, i'd dismantle all the bombs

if i could change the world i would feed all the hungry

if i could change the world i would shelter all the homeless

if i could change the world, i would make all the people free

i cannot dismantle all the bombs

i cannot feed all the hungry

i cannot shelter all the homeless

i cannot make all the people free

i cannot because there is only one of me

when i have grown and i am strong i will find many more of me

we will dismantle all the bombs

we will feed the hungry

we will shelter all the homeless

we will make all the people free

we will change the world

me and my friends

all together, together at last

 

jojo age 11

 

Comments

[lynnie]

As you said, bitter and sweet. And that poem! Wow.