Christmas

Christmas Eve

Welcome Yule!

 

So the shortest day came

and the year died

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake,

They shouted, reveling!

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us -- Listen!

All the long echoes sing this same delight

This shortest day.

As promise wakens in the sleeping land;

They carol, feast, give thanks

They dearly love their friends

And hope for peace

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!

                                                -Susan Cooper 

Saturday

Dear Delta Gammas

Dear Delta Gammas,

Thirteen years ago, I was a puddle of tears. Grace was six, Emma was almost five, I was an elementary school teacher before the girls were born and I grew up thirty minutes from Sandy Hook. I looked at my daughters and was so very hopeful that the country would come together in the wake of that horrific day to proclaim that enough was enough and get its gun issue solved once and for all.

I am so incredibly sorry that was not the case.

The events of Saturday took me right back to the gut-wrenching day that was Sandy Hook. However, this time, instead of an almost five year old and a six year old, my girls are now nineteen and almost eighteen, and in addition to them I have all of you- “my Providence daughters”. I wanted so badly to get to all of you, wrap my arms around you and cry with you that this was happening on your beloved campus at what should have been a peaceful end to the semester.

Molly shared with me how you all came together to help and support each other, and the wider Brown community too, by offering people rides and places to stay. Your kindness, compassion and generosity truly are second to none! Thank you for being a light in the darkness!

I hope you all have taken (or will take) advantage of the counseling services that Brown has offered, or that you have connected with a trusted counselor/therapist/member of clergy if you had access to one such person already. Though I am not a counselor or therapist, I am a mom and an educator, and as such I am always here if anyone wants or needs someone to listen and support. My contact info is in my signature, and my door is always open. I will be holding space for each one of you as you process what happened and begin your healing journey.

To those currently celebrating Chanukah, the Advisory Team and I, wish you a holiday of light and love and miracles.

To those getting ready to celebrate Solstice on Sunday, may the longest night bring you the gift of rest and rejuvenation, may the stars above light your path, and may the return of the sun bring with it a reminder that it’s always darkest before the dawn.

To those who will celebrate Christmas next week, we wish you a day filled with peace, hope, love and joy.

To All: We wish you a restorative break and we look forward to welcoming you back to camps in January. 

+ITB,

Shel 

No Words, Just Tears

 

Saint Nicholas