Silent Sunset

We returned today from a family gathering last week on the shores of Lake Shawano and our son’s family home nearby. There were seventeen of us, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and parents at this gathering.

One of the nights we had our traditional Grape Leave dinner, although this time some of us had to eat and go to the last soccer game of the season for my grandson. In fact this week, all three of the Graf Kids had final soccer games of the season. Also one of my grandsons had baseball tournaments both weekends.

As seems to be the norm these days the young adult parents have a compulsion to keep their children busy all the time, playing video games, tubing, go-carting, water skiing, polka dancing, gong to movies and so much more. In fact my granddaughter and I did not have time to play “shark” in the water with me as the shark or for our traditional water balloon fight. But the kids seemed to have lots of fun, as do the adults.

Despite all the activities I did manage to go fishing with my nephews, grandsons and their cousins from the other side of the family. Also there were the silent sunsets that defy words and busyness.

In moments of reading this week about Dorothy Day or Mahatma Gandhi I admire how they integrated moments of silence into a very busy life. I find this hard to do although it is nature’s way.

Like nature there are many, perhaps too many, observations from this week of the family gathering. It will take lots of silence, silent as nature, to really see, hear and touch them.

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