The livestreamed hometown high school musical struck “our chord of the year!” We’d eagerly awaited the young people’s annual energetic harmony.  We held our breaths for the first number; then the masked faces six-feet from each other delivered a discordant shock. The Herculean effort delivered an unintended breathtaking message straight from Genesis!  “It’s not good for ‘man’ to be alone!”  Practicing in sound booth isolation doesn’t work!  We are created to breathe as one and make music in community.

So, this “Covid year”, like you we’ve masked up, and physical distanced trying to ensure that our breath is safeguarded and our breath is safeguarding those around us.  And ever since the musical we’re wearing a spiritual pulsometer to try to better align ourselves with the Holy Breath.  In Genesis, the Spirit blew Life over the chaos. The season of stable smells we’re reminded that the Holy Breath intends to work love in our times as well. Our creshe includes the stable owner and his wife.  And our prayer?  May we all have their inclusive compassionate hearts.

We’re fortunate to be able to walk daily in the Arboretum and hear the still Voice along the shores of beautiful Lake Comus; we join our bees on our side of the lake as they long for a world that pollinates justice and creates honey peace.   And although some days we walk with grief tears flowing, we’re blessed to be able to take in huge breaths with RBG, sister-in-love Anne, and friend of 57 years Linda. Walking with their memories we sing a full-throated “Love is in the Air everywhere I look around…!”

So, we attempt to keep our spiritual lungs full.  We take Rosa for rides in the country.  We enjoy cocktail hour zoom, whatsup, facetime, and google duo visits. We exchange cards, texts, and emails, and we relax with those air-filled words still alive in books.  

And along with those “staying connected” lifelines, Tom enlisted help to create a family blog.  Put Tom-Dona-Rosa.net in your search engine and hopefully you will gasp with delighted surprise at the various “hot-air balloon” entries there.  Believing “Truth will set you free”, we’re doing our best to untether truth, beauty and goodness as we try to break the suffocating choke-hold of hate filled lies.

We close, grateful that our family’s health is holding, and that vaccines are on the way.  How desperately Rosa needs to be able to return to her VIP work family.  We’re grateful for nieces and nephews who in these toxic times are applying to medical school, and authoring articles that merge wisdom from black lives matter and climate change rescue efforts. Yes, thanks to all of you who are breathing out positive energy for all children on our earth especially our three beautiful Portland grandchildren Lincoln 15, Beckett 13, Tamsin 9.  As we look at our Christmas tree, we look forward to hugs and huge Handel’s Halleluiah-chorus-in-a-forest-days 😊. In the meantime, we hold you near to our hearts as we sing “Let heaven and nature sing…the wonders of God’s Love!”   And, thanks for being a sign of that wonder.  You’re a natural!