At the Family Shelter

Journal entry: 

Another day of life. Thank you Lord. Each moment is a precious gift. Carelessly I often allow them to sift as sand through my fingers at a summer beach. Today you stopped me from sifting sand! 

Billie and Jessie, two small children at the Family Shelter, snuggle close to me as I read Make Way for Ducklings. I ask myself, has anyone made room for B and J? Their mother, Sharon, trusting me, begins a conversation as she breast-feeds her youngest, Jeffrey. "The children was all shook up that we was coming here, but we are safe now."

Janet, a volunteer with two small children of her own, takes Jessie, Billie and me to the library where we explore a world of books. When I leave, she tells B. and J. to say goodbye to me. I am amazed when they put their arms around me, call me "gamma".

Now, holding sand in my hand is a reminder.

Adaline's book, While It Was Still Dark, conveys her encounter with separation & loss in a succession of sharply limned images. She doesn't discourse about grief, she evokes its many moods.