Mischief

No great..er Mischief: and so lineage carries on. The misspelled words, quaint recipes and the tendencies to drink (too much). The succeeding generations cannot foretell when the unexpected red-haired child will appear, the crooked little finger (in my family often incorrectly diagnosed as arthritis), I see it in my one child’s approach to sleeping sprawled like a conqueror and in the other’s fascination in all things chocolate. Have you ever wondered at your musical ability, or a sibling's fashion sense, why is it that your parent still has the energy of a 20 year old?

I admire the lines that brought courageous people across turbulent waters, surviving unspeakable experiences involving food and toilet facilities and their stoic faces burying their loved ones. I see them turning their stiffened shoulders on windy cliffs and passing on that grace to the coming generations. The smiling triumph of mountains scaled, crops grown to harvest, and raging rivers forded. I wonder at their tenacity to not quit, not stop until the job was done. Give thanks for your great grandfathers and great grandmothers for they truly were “great”.

Read: No Great Mischief – Alistair MacLeod. Thanks to Christine for leaving this book behind in the staff room.