Looking at the Past with an Eye for the Future

Sorry I didn’t post last week. It’s been a busy week here at the Santillan household. In the last eight or so days we have celebrated: 2 birthdays, Father’s Day, a graduation, a funeral, the ending of an old job and the beginning of a new job. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going. But each event served as a reminder of the constancy of change. Nothing stays the same. Things are always in movement.

Last Saturday, we celebrated Son#2’s graduation from High School. As I faced that last week, I marked down the milestones that I knew I would never face again: last school lunch, last day of carpool, etc… It was a bittersweet moment as I watched my son take the stage to receive his diploma. My baby has grown up. I remembered his first weeks in High School and wondered where the time went. But just as I look back at those moments and wish I could hold on to them for just a moment more, I look forward to the future and am eager to see where he will go.

One week later, I found myself at the funeral for a family friend. The gentleman was in his 70’s and had lived a full and happy life with a family who cared for him greatly. And though his final years were faced with the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s I was touched by the legacy of love and hope he left his family. This legacy will continue on through his children and grandchildren.

In our family, it has become a tradition to place an unlit candle on the side of the cake. It represents the hope for the coming year. As I placed the candle on the cake this year, I was reminded of both the graduation and the funeral. Both events while on opposite ends of the spectrum were celebrations of the past, with the eye to the future.

I’m hoping things will settle down here for a while and we can catch our breath. But if they don’t, I know we’ll be okay. I’ve seen the past and I have tremendous hope for the future.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk