Yes, you were right. Aunt Ruth and I wanted to say something about the end of 2012.
As blog followers, you know this has been a difficult year for us. Maybe, it has been for you as well. We thank you for believing in Loving Aunt Ruth ( earnestly being marketed at a time when publishing photo/inspirational books is tricky). We were anxious about expressing year-end thoughts, until we read Father O'Neil's words in Maureen Dowd's column in the December 26th edition of The New York Times. Father O'Neil addressed the "why" question in the context of Christmas and Newtown.
I wish Father O'Neil and Aunt Ruth could share some of my grandmother's soup in Aunt Ruth's kitchen, because as Father O'Neil says (and Aunt Ruth has taught me), "Loving presence brings us back, makes us belong."
Father O'Neil wrote:
One true thing is this: Faith is lived in family and community...
I will never satisfactorily answer the question "Why?" because no matter what response I give, it will always fall short. What I do know is that an unconditionally loving presence soothes broken hearts, binds up wounds and renews us in life. This is a gift we can all give...
Aunt Ruth, an ordinary woman of ordinary means had 165 people to her 90th birthday party of all ages, faiths, ethnicities, and political beliefs, because she understands that love is the greatest gift of all. I am grateful to my father, an amazing photographer, whose piles of photographs taught and inspired me to document my own family. Photographing Aunt Ruth and her loving presence has definitely brought me back, and so have each of you.
From my ever-loving Aunt Ruth and me, remember to make sure you always have love in your life...thank you, Father O'Neil for reminding us that it "brings us back, makes us belong."
Happy New Year to you All!
love, Aunt Ruth and me
