Dear Kate, Emily, Logan, Adeline and Grayson,
What a year! As I contemplate what to write in my annual Christmas letter to my grandchildren, I am almost breathless.
The dizzying array of events that have characterized the year about to end leaves me wondering what I can say to you, my dearest ones, that will help you realize how important you are not just to me but to our world.
In some ways, those of my generation have succeeded in making a bit of a mess that you all likely will have to navigate in the years ahead. There is much talk about how our environment, water and air are struggling under the pressure of progress and of how changes in the world’s climate are causing all sorts of problems. It seems likely that the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, droughts, floods and even wildfires could be related to these changes.
Among this year’s seminal events, especially for those of us in Florida, was Hurricane Irma that drove us from our homes. We won’t soon forget that long trip through the night to the safety of your cousin’s home in Louisiana, but we will also remember with thankfulness coming home to much less damage than we had anticipated.
Other relatives were threatened with fires in California, and people in Texas are still struggling after torrential rains resulting from Hurricane Harvey devastated their homes and towns.
Around the world, leaders of some nations have taken to angry talk and threatening actions that could have disastrous consequences for all of us, and too many people are facing daily challenges, including hunger, disease and no place to call home. Years of war have left too many countries in ruins and too many lives in tatters.
But times in the past have had their share of challenges, and children just like you have grown up ready to make their world a better place. I know you all will too. How do I know that? Because your parents are setting a good example for you and because already you are doing your part.
For one thing, you are working hard in school. As I recall my school years and those of your mothers, it seems you are being exposed to so much more information than we were and are learning valuable skills at a far younger age. New approaches to teaching and technological advances have found their way into your public school classrooms and I am grateful for that.
Yet, the basics of reading and writing are as important as ever and I have watched as you have embraced these important skills. Even Grayson, our second-grader, was working on a research project when I visited last, and Logan is loving his fifth-grade experience in a program emphasizing critical thinking, writing and collaborative work.
Likewise, it is good to hear that serving others is an important part of your lives, as it is of your parents'. Adeline, your help at the Jack and Jill preschool, including raising funds with your lemonade stand, is preparing you for important work in the future, and our twins, Kate and Emily, now teenagers, are busy with projects at their middle school, where they serve on the student council. Helping out with chores that you do at home is an important learning experience in itself.
Our family is immensely blessed in so many ways. We are supported by a host of relatives spread all over the country who have followed a variety of different paths but who believe in one another and who enjoy being together. Our family reunion in Utah this summer was a raucous, joyous event filled with laughter and lively discussions during which we did not all agree. I doubt if we changed many minds but we came to know and appreciate one another just a bit more.
This year, we added two new family members and two more are expected to join us in the spring. These births, the commitment of their parents to bring new little ones into the world, offer hope for the future, an assurance that new minds and new hearts soon will be ready to make their mark on the world just as you five are doing.
At this season of giving, the prospect of being with you all is better than any gift I could unwrap. It is exceeded only by the opportunity I have to watch each of you grow in love and understanding, to see you become people who believe in yourselves and in the power of caring for one another.
Wishing you each a joyous, peaceful Christmas, with love,
Your Mimi
Kathy Silverberg is a former publisher of the Herald-Tribune’s southern editions. Email: kathy.silverberg@comcast.net