Truly Amazing

Epiphany! So I remembered what that truly amazing thing was that I saw the other day.

Background: My house is on a corner of the street next to the junior high school. People frequently use the fields for different things like kite-flying, soccer games, or just going to run around the track. Also, the house directly across from ours is a government-owned group home where mentally handicapped adults are taken care of 24/7. That's really all the background you need.

So I was outside in the yard--helping my grandpa put up holiday lights--when we saw these huge kites flying over the junior high's fields. Passing neighbors let us know that there was a birthday party happening, so they had all kinds of fun stuff.

As I was plugging in a new string and untangling all the icicle strings, I noticed that one of the caretakers across the street was holding the hand of one of my favorite residents of the house. His name is Gabriel, but we often call him Gabe or Gabby. He has Downs Syndrome and we believe he's in his thirties. He had bundled up in his coat and was on his way to see the kites.

Pause. I suppose this epiphany has two parts. Play.

As the two men got to the corner, the caretaker paused and said, "Hold on a minute, Gabe, we have to check the street before crossing, remember? Look left. Right. No cars. Good, okay now we can go."

Epiphany number one: The mentally handicapped people we see every day--at my house anyway--are so much like children. They just need our care and guidance. Because if we don't help them, who will? When I see the residents taken care of, I get this warm feeling just knowing that there's always someone there helping them.

Epiphany number two: Simple thing, crossing the road. As we're older, we don't think twice about looking to make sure there aren't any cars. We just look left, right, left again, and then walk. Why? Because we were taught by our parents and mentors. ALWAYS check the road. Things that I've learned that are this simple just make me more grateful for the influences in my life. When we're taught those simple things, they stay with us and become second nature. I love it!

So next time you talk to your parents tell them how grateful you are that they taught you to look before crossing the street, because the reason you are still walking is that you look first all the time.

A Midsummer Solstice

Since this is my first blogging experience, I think people deserve a little explanation, so here goes:

Just so we're clear, my name is Celeste. I was once visiting my aunt and her family in Colorado. There I met my cousin's friend Adam. After I left, Adam said, "I wonder what Solstice is doing?"

"Solstice? Who's Solstice?" asked my cousin Dixon.

"Solstice. You know, your cousin."

"Oh, you mean Celeste."

Hence, my nickname was born. All my cousins now call me Solstice. Hey, why not? Celeste doesn't usually constitute any nicknames the way the name Joe may have a nickname like "Java" or "Latte." You know, like a "cup of joe" is coffee... You follow, right? Anyway...

So here's my blog called "A Midsummer Solstice." Because my life is currently at its midsummer point. I've passed my spring beginning and established my summer, so I'm working my way through my summer. Fall is where I get married and have kids and it all goes downhill from there.

The other day--I can't remember which one--I saw something amazing. Sadly, I can't remember what happened because if I had a blog then, I most definitely would have remembered long enough to come blog it, but it was not so. I made a mental note to remember it and say it on facebook, but since facebook is slightly more fleeting than a blog... well, I lost that amazing memory. Temporarily anyway. Hopefully I remember it soon.

Because this is a blog for things I witness and think worthy of note. Because I have a lot of epiphanies and times where I just get lost in thought and I need to share those thoughts. I know I'd be able to share it more easily in writing because I just love words! I think words drive a harder point when you're reading them instead of hearing them. Because when you read them you have time to really think about them. Instead of, for example, hearing someone say something truly amazing and you go, "Oh that's pretty cool," you could be reading those same words and you could instead think, "Wow, I never thought of it that way. I guess that could be like a metaphor for the way we just keep on going and..." Well, you get the picture. In the time you could have thought that, the person saying those words would already be on to some other amazing idea. And you have no time to savor what they said before.

I'm rambling. And I may do that a lot, and I apologize in advance for every ramble-session to come. Enjoy my new blog!