Gratitude for Their Love

Gratitude is an expression of humility; an acknowledgment of grace received; and an affirmation of connection. On this day of Thanksgiving, I express a new sense of gratitude for the love of my parents for me and their lives. Death has no claim on this or any other love.

My parents were my first and foremost teachers in living with dignity and integrity. The first to teach me of God, together we entered the Catholic Church. From them, I learned to live in my Blackness with pride and with no shame. They encouraged me to recognize, question and resist injustice. They also modeled the responsibility of volunteering as a part of both servant leadership and community service as well as voting as a component of civic participation. 

There is a common saying that by becoming a parent a person can better appreciate and understand their parents’ love for them. I would imagine for some it is a revelation of what was missed. Not being a parent, I accepted my unknowing of this experience.

One night this past summer, I had a dream in which I was overwhelmed by feeling the depth and magnitude of my parents’ love for me. The vision is seared in my memory of dropping to my knees in the experience. Upon awakening, the sensation was embodied. It is now a cherished memory for which I am forever most grateful.