Christmas 2012 Greetings
from The Singletary Family
from The Singletary Family
24 December 2012
Dearest Family and Friends,
Soiled diapers, smelly
wipes, odoriferous shirts and blouses reeking of an infant’s projectile
vomiting, loads of urine soaked children’s laundry due to accidents, glaring
volumes of kids television programming and radio, tripping over myriad toys
throughout your house, repeated trips to the pediatrician, serving as a
chauffeur and any other daily parental chores, all, are amongst the greatest
gifts we have as we celebrate Christmas and other religious holidays this
year. In the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy,
countless fellow citizens painstakingly strive to find “a new normal” as they
rebuild their lives. The recent tragedy
of mass murder of twenty innocent first grade students and six undeserving
adults in Newtown, Connecticut compels us to reassess our cardinal principles
of faith, politics, finance and public policy.
As a father of a fourteen year old son and ten year old daughter, my
heart bleeds continually for the parents and families of those victims whose lives
have been ravaged with an unimaginable horror.
Utilizing the enduring
and rich spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith, I pray genuinely for
them and seek practical and pragmatic ways to concretize divine love and
compassion. I will join with like-minded
people of faith and social justice advocacy to use the power of community to
combat evil with the steadfast hope that we can spare other parents such an
unspeakable atrocity. Yet, chief among
the Christian practices from which I draw strength, comfort and hope is
gratitude. I am most appreciative this
holiday season for my two beloved children and gifts of parental obligations as
I realize I am greatly blessed as a recipient of their unconditional love. This year, my heart swells with thanksgiving
for my family and their well-being with appropriate soberness as I consider the
regrettable plight of my neighbors in the Northeast.
One of my family’s most
recent joys is Curtis’ success in freshmen basketball tryouts! His number is 44. With all due humility and objectivity, if I
may say, Curtis is a very good defensive player who refuses to allow taller and
bigger players to intimidate him “in the paint and the post.” As my basketball skills equate with my
readiness for the next phase of the space program, I sit in the bleachers and
marvel as I watch him play. He is a
quintessential athlete who strives for excellence. Most fortunately, his efforts also extend to
his academic subjects as he missed honors by a couple of points. Personally, I wish he were in Ashburnham,
Massachusetts yielding such academic and athletic achievements. His mother, my beloved wife, will not
entertain the thought! Accordingly, I
harbor this dream within my Walter Smitty flights of fantasy.
Our daughter, Sariel,
spent the fall semester balancing soccer, swimming and voice lessons in
addition to attaining honors in her classes.
A magnanimous creative soul which sings openly and freely and even
literally in the morning as we attempt to leave punctually for school without
familial drama, Sariel enjoys Disney radio (the Wakey Blakey Morning Show),
fashion design books, and Archie comics of late. It is a sheer joy to view the world through
her innocent, generous and compassionate eyes.
What an antidote to the jadedness that emerges within years of adult living! Her joy erodes the cynicism that easily
overwhelms the optimism of my youth.
In February, Carol Joy
and I will celebrate twenty years together.
Already, I am very excited about this milestone. How amazing to spend 7300 days in
relationship with the same person! We
look forward to another twenty years.
She serves as a Dean of Culture at a charter school in Brooklyn where
she is able encourage elementary school students as they begin their
educational odysseys and empower their parents as they collaborate with
teachers and administrators in a very fluid and vibrant learning
community. As teacher and educator at
heart, Carol Joy is suited ideally for her current position of service.
In addition to the
drastic challenges of natural disaster and inexplicable, maniacal mass murder,
this year has yielded other professional accomplishments and personal
delights. As I write, I reach the two
and a half year mark at Cambria Heights Community Church. My family’s return to our beloved New York
City remains a progressive answer to a heartfelt prayer as I yearned for an
existential space where each of our souls could be fully alive as we embrace
our dreams and goals. I continue to
visualize the completion of a few goals which linger in the sanctuary of my mind
and heart. Inspiration spontaneously
erupts in the middle of the night. I am
silly with enthusiasm as I enter the afternoon of life and willingly encounter
life’s mystery and serendipity.
Admittedly, I agreed with the outcome of the presidential election but I
particularly rejoiced when I observed the willingness of countless diverse
American citizens to stand in line for several hours on end to vote. As a student of history, I saw their
relentless will to exercise democracy’s greatest gift to the common person as a
vindication of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for which many of my forbears of
the American South sacrificed their lives.
Mostly, I relish the accomplishments of my wife and children whose
smiles, happiness and joy unquestionably yields the very same for me.
In that spirit of divine
love, we wish you, your family and friends our heartfelt wishes for the genuine
blessings of this sacred season. I
believe our most invaluable gift is God’s love as it is personified through our
most precious relationships. Ironically,
the recent unimaginable and irreversible loss suffered by our neighbors New
Jersey, Colorado and Connecticut forces us to re-examine life’s true
riches. As you celebrate the holiday of
your respective faith traditions, Carol Joy, Curtis, Sariel and I hope love,
joy, peace and wholeness will be your daily and constant companions.
With warmest personal
regards,
Victor
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