.......
.CHRISTMAS
GREETINGS
.from
Phyllis Loomis
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- Last spring I chanced to pass an old but
well-cared-for apple orchard. No buds or leaves blocked the view
of strong, craggy branches stretching out - helter-skelter - oddly
parallel to the ground. I was fascinated and passed that way often
as the spring and summer progressed. I was finding a new self at
the time and felt a close connection with the trees.
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- The summer clothing the trees and I wore
covered our misshapen bones and may even have made us feel a bit
younger.
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- We were all still producing fruits of one
kind or another. Not the fruits of our youth but ones appropriate
of our ages. Fruits of which we have a right to be proud.
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- Now that the summer leaves have turned to
brilliant colors and fallen on the ground, the superstructure of
those wonderful old trees. We have much in common, the apple trees
and I. Never again will we honestly look at ourselves and believe
we are young. It is time to accept what we are, to remember the
past with pleasure, to be proud of the positive things we have
given to the world and what we still can give. May we remember
that past with pride, live today to its fullest and accept
tomorrow when it comes, if it comes.
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- I have named one of those old apple trees
Phyllis. I feel sisterly toward the entire orchard. I think of us
as the orchard of crones. I look forward to this new season of
bareness, whiteness, and cold, as the beginning of our last of
four seasons. It is out there with new and different challenges,
and with hope. 1, like the trees, will stand fast and be ready to
put my mark on each passing day as it greets us all. Each will
bring with it the gift of one more beautiful new beginning.
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