“2012 was the hardest
year of my life, and yet I am having a hard time saying good bye to it...but
2013 is here whether I like it or not. God give me strength.” – Lizy Coleman
1/1/13
Auld Lang Syne. It is the song that greets the New Year, but
what does it mean? It is sung to such a
baleful and woe filled tune. As the dirge wafts through the night, I can see
myself trying to huddle around a miserable little excuse of a fire with my
Highland friends (All apologies to the Richies, Allans, Wigneys, Rennies and any
surrogate Scots), as we try to stave off the encroaching cold and damp from the
ever present mist. Where is the
happiness of a New Year? Why the sad faces? Is this not the chance for a new
beginning?
In 1788, Robert Burns, arguably the finest Poet Scotland has
ever produced, penned the poem that became the song. It is a drinking song that calls upon a person
not to forget their friends even as they drink a ‘cup o’kindness’ And drink they would given the reference to a
Scottish pint or 60 oz of refreshing ale.
And yet we sing it as a dismissory song to the year just passed, and in
other parts of the world it is used at funerals and graduations.
Consider the words of the first stanza as it is the theme of
the remainder:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to
mind? Shall we forget our friends, shall they forever be relegated to pits of
relationships that will never be rekindled but sit frozen in the past? And then
in exclamation the same is repeated but with the warning that all the time,
learning and growth that came from those connections will be lost in the “auld
lang syne” in the old long since.
But the poet defiantly replies in chorus:
-For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne
For old long since, my dear; for all the bygone times my
friend, for all the memories since we first met; We’ll drink a toast in a quiet
nod of the head to you my friend and toast the times we have spent together
since we first met.
And on it goes for four more verses detailing the times gone
by, the memories of a long standing friendship interspersed with the chorus
reminder that there will be no forgetting the strength and power in friendships
won through time and struggle.
It is fitting for this moment. There is but a different date on the calendar
this morning, not only has the number in the month changed, but so has the month
and the year. Today the year is 2013,
while yesterday it was 2012. But nothing
has really changed, has it? You still
probably ate too much over the past week, still have dreams and goals to be
accomplished, just as you accomplished some of your dreams and goals over the
past period of record.
For us, we entered 2012 with a family of 4, and we left
being 2½, being that Morgan considers herself halfway out the door. We will never forget Evan, and yet little
details fade with time The hole he left
does not get any smaller but we are able to better define its edges and have
better knowledge of the danger zones.
Every day we wake knowing that he is not asleep in his room, that he
will not be playing on his computer or drawing or reading; and that hurts in a
manner that hurts in such a special and intimate way that sometimes just taking
the next breath seems impossible.
But today is special, as was last night. These times are not so much for extra special
remembrances of Evan, but they have definitely been times of remembering you. We have made so many new friends, and renewed
such amazing friendships from our past.
It is to you that we raise our glass this time of year. Friends are hard to define especially in a
fast moving world of telecommunications and social media. I had some bizarre idea that I would list all
the people who sought us out in our time of need, in the times of our ongoing
crisis, to share with the world all the people who have shared time, talents,
and/or gifts with us. The signs of
friendship, you know, the little notes, the facebook messages, and that was
before all the known and unknown thought senders and prayer warriors.
It is an impossible task and one fraught with the danger of
missing a name here or there in direct conflict with our opening song. There has been an overwhelming sea of support
that lifted us up and kept us afloat when all we wanted to do was drown. Look at what you have accomplished for us:
Financially – you retired Evan’s medical debt and gave us time to grieve; Physically
– you built Evan’s garden and cleaned and prepared our house to receive
mourners; Mentally – you challenged us to engage and remain in the ‘game’; and
Spiritually – you gave us your spirit when ours alone would not hold us up, you
pointed us to a future that moves towards us with each passing second, teaching
us to keep our heads up and on the horizon so that we don’t walk off the cliffs
around us.
Yes, you are co-authors of this blog, and are by all rights
co-founders of the Evan Coleman Foundation, Inc. The Evan Coleman Foundation is
being founded to build a living legacy.
The living legacy has two legs: First is the thrust to fund research
into the cancer that took Evan’s life; The second is to ensure that the efforts
of the summer (the living legacy of
life, gardens, peace and personal fulfillment) be replicated for others in a
testimony for Evan and what he believed.
It is not for the Foundation to push one ideology or
religion upon others, Evan would regard that as the ultimate in Christian hubris
and hypocrisy. A person who is suffering
or a family in need do not need doctrine or dogma they need friends, people to
come along side long enough to see an area they can support, and then get it
done without expectation.
We hope to continue a living legacy of connections. Our situation was unique, as is the situation
affecting every other person we might help; but the broad swath of support that
was used to envelope us with love and warmth and shelter was an amazing
construct. It is one of the goals of the
Evan Coleman Foundation to seek out unique situations of need, shed light upon
those situations and in some similar manner raise up that large broadcloth of
comfort, support and love to envelope and protect people from the storms of
life if just for a brief respite from the wind and waves.
Besides, as attractive as the 3 wheeled John Deere is in the
back yard, or the 6 foot wide tractor tire planter in the front yard may be; we
are looking to find a new locale for our landscaping projects. Blessings to you all through the New Year, and
may your year ahead not be as difficult as our past one was for us. Thank you for your love and friendship
through thick and thin. For auld lang
syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet, for auld
lang syne.
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