A MOTLEY CREW

Because we are still gainfully employed and cannot travel as much as we would like, and because our children, and, thus, our grandchildren, are scattered, we do not get to see them as often as we would like. Of course, when it comes to grandchildren, one never sees them enough. That cannot always be said about one’s own children even as much as one truly loves them. Grandchildren are for spoiling…and getting even.

At any rate, Arlena and I have begun having them all over for Christmas a few weeks before Christmas so that they can spend the 25^th with their other families. We love it and so do they. This year we asked one of our daughters to bring her new male friend with her so that he could meet the family – and vice versa, of course. Given our family that can be a dangerous thing to do. He may not return.

We’ve been through this family introduction before. Arlena has always been upfront with the prospective suitors of our daughters. She tells them very simply, “We are a motley crew.” I tend to add, “What you see is what you get.” Frankly, I like what they see and what they will get; but, then, that’s only me.

We are indeed a motley crew. But, then, aren’t we all? Every family is a motley crew of individuals. That simply goes without saying even if, when we say it, we sometimes have to cringe when we think about the cast of characters that make up every family. No family is exempt. None. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a monochrome environment? It is our individual quirkiness and uniqueness that makes life so interesting and, yes, sometimes a little difficult as well.

Not only is every family a motley crew, so is every parish. And even when we look around a gathered group of people and think we are much the same, and we are, but we are also not. Our family, both our biological family and those who have joined it as well as our parish family is like a tree: we may grow in many directions but our roots remain the same.

It is those roots that keep us together when everything around us seems to be falling apart. It is those roots that remind us that as diverse as we sometimes seem to be and even are, certainly as we often think and act, we are still one family. It is those roots that feed us when we need to be fed and keep our life alive when we feel like we are shriveling up and sometimes, honestly, giving up.

As we begin another calendar year, it might behoove us to reflect about the motley crews we are each a part of. Not only should we think about the individuals who make up these crews, we need to thank God for them even when, perhaps especially when, they drive us up the wall and to distraction. The truth is that, even as we sometimes are reluctant to admit it, we often return the compliment.

How our daughter’s friend responds to Arlena’s “motley crew” revelation remains to be seen. It’s in his hands. So, too, is it for us to those motely crews to which we belong.