My Private Party
I missed my summer solstice ceremony this year. It's a ceremony that, along
with my winter solstice remembrance, has become very important. Because I depend
so much on daylight, given my small amount of vision, I have a sense of mild
regret when the summer solstice arrives and I know that the days are going to
be getting shorter. Conversely, I have a sense of delicious delight when mid-December
hits, and I know that it won't be long now before days slowly begin to get longer.
Last year at summer solstice time I found myself in small-town USA. Across
the street from my hotel was a baseball field where a local game was going on,
and I could hear the sounds of people shouting, cheering on their team, purchasing
hot dogs, and generally cavorting and having a grand time. I stood by the window
of the hotel remembering, breathing deep, and thinking about all those summers
when I had taken note of the solstice day.
This year, as I said, I missed my private celebration. Jane and I were in the
middle of a family reunion with my mother, her second husband and my sister.
We had come back from dinner late. Jane and I talked late into the night, and
as I went to bed I realized I had totally ignored my private little ceremony.
And strangely enough, I have felt badly about it for days now.
Over the years I have come to realize the importance of ritual, whether it
be public ritual or private ceremony. I realize it more and more as I grow older.
Human beings need ritual. This I'm sure is nothing new to you. You know as well
as I do the importance of ritual and tradition. So I merely encourage you, if
there are personal or family rituals which you have maintained over the years,
it's worth some time and effort to keep those traditions alive.
My daughter, Rachel, who appears to be the least tradition-bound person I
have ever known, is odd in that way. She grieves when Thanksgiving Day doesn't
have a family turkey and Christmas doesn't have a tree. Otherwise, I reckon
there is almost nothing regular and predictable about Rachel's crazy life. If
Rachel needs ritual, I suspect we all do!
KPM/July 2001
