The Baton Has Been Passed

I wrote this after a visit to my Mom one day. She was the last of her generation, and all of my Dad's generation had already passed. It began to dawn on me that I, and my brother and sisters were now the "elders" of our family. That thought can be a bit sobering. When you realize there is no longer that source of wisdom to draw from; there is no longer that stability that a parents' home seems to bring even to a 50 or 60 year old man; and that, especially, now, all of a sudden, you are it!!!! You are the one whom all the others now are looking to for those same things. How do we manage to accept and carry such a responsibility?

The baton has been passed to the unprepared kin.
Now what will we do? How do we begin
To firmly implant our values and dreams
For the next generation, as a guide for their schemes.
Our mothers and fathers have gone on before
And have left us to carry the load which they bore.
And that is to set an example of life
That would lead us to peace and avoid undue strife.
So, how do we carry such a load, such a weight
When even our patriarchs strained this to sate?
And even if our forefathers failed in this quest
It still behooves us to give it our best.
What do we teach, what do we say,
That will help prepare others for their coming day?
Remember one thing; forget all the rest:
The Creator who made us will always know best.
 

Dwight Suiter

September 26, 2010