© Written - April 16th, 2017 - 4:01 pm to 4:45 pm
By the Way, I Adopted You
Right after November 3rd, I adopted Dale, Marty, and Floris as my aunts in my mind. They didn't need to do anything and I didn't either. I don't know why. My thoughts weren't conscious until years later. I think that I realized that adopting the other widows in my mind felt like a comfort blanket. And there was something about thinking about my mother and the other widows that it felt like they became sisters experiencing November 3rd together. And, I felt a special kinship with many others with the shared experience of November 3rd. But the widows felt like even a more specific experience.
At some point, I think years later, I was thinking about Sandy's husband. I thought why don't I think about Mark like an uncle? I don't know exactly why, but I think that the reason I adopted the widows as my aunts but not Mark as my uncle, is because I saw Dale, Marty, and Floris often, but I didn't see Mark at all.
Years later, I realized that I don't think that I ever told the widows that I adopted them. I just felt like the spirit moved me to tell them so that they would know. There were a couple of times that I found myself sharing it with one or two of them. I think that I told Marty and Floris one time each. I think that I told Floris at the cemetery commemorating an Anniversary of November 3rd. I think that I told Marty walking with her, leah, and Leah's child, from the first speakers to more a ceremony to put in the Historical Marker. I don't think that I ever told Dale.
So, I want to make sure that all of them know for themselves. Maybe, it was also a testament to their strength of character and general ways of being and in response to November 3rd.
So, Dale, Marty, and Floris, I adopted all of you after November 3rd in my mind. I didn't have any expectations of you and none of us needed to do anything different. I don't think that I ever told anyone. I kept it quiet in my mind. But, that mindset gave me alot of comfort for many years and continues to do so.
So, Dale, Marty, and Floris, thank you.