Letters Home: Section 1, Letter dated November 10

November 10
Katrina,



As the holiday nears, The Oak is preparing to close for the colder months. Periodically, so that the local residents who wish to visit can come see The Oak, it will open as the snow falls and the water freezes, a day here and a day there. In the winter, ice skaters will glide across the water after it becomes ice, turning and spinning and jumping and twirling. The snow will soon make the mountain treacherous to climb as the snow and ice covering steep sections settles on the mountain in ways that prevent proper footing and the trees, protective of the newborn snow, hover over the flakes and prevent the sun from creating change too quickly.



Winter is the season when the Earth shows all that nothing ever remains the same, but nothing ever truly dies; rather, it changes into something different, something new. In the winter, the rain changes into snow and ice, later returning to liquid to be absorbed into the Earth and various bodies of water. The winds from the north that blow through the winter months will return to their home after the season to prepare to come again. And the winter itself, in time, will change into spring. Life is about change, opportunities for choice, for chance, for mistakes, and even opportunities to redeem ourselves from our wrongdoings should we choose to see them for what they are.



During the holiday season of the colder months, hearts melt, displaying warmth and affection not expressed throughout the year. The human race becomes more giving, more forgiving, more open to change, and more open with their hearts as they begin to reach out more to others and close less their eyes to the truth. And, for a brief time, thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation begin to rule over the disillusioned and the discontent.



As children, we walked with Father to visit each of the farm workers and every member of the house staff, calling each of them by name and asking of their families as Father wished them a blessed winter season, truly meaning it in his heart. Grateful, Father was, for the changes in The Oak that the workers had helped to create, for the heartfelt care and concern the workers shared for the property; and grateful, the workers were, to be employed by an open heart.




How many people are as fortunate today?



Sister, are you there?



Always,
Christina




This work is fictional. Any resemblance to actual situations or persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional.