THE SISTERS

This fine portrait was taken yesterday at a family reunion lunch to welcome our #7 Auntie, my mother's youngest sister, who is visiting from Oregon with her daughter and grandchildren. My friends, you are looking at a cumulative age of 336 years, even more momentous is their 336 years of life experience on this planet. From the left; Auntie #3 at 85, #7 at 82, Mom at 89 & #4 at 80! Talking about 'After 80' - a recent catch phrase to capture the mood of youngsters born after 1980 in Hong Kong- this group of grannies is the real thing, and it is just marvelous.

When I retired I was introduced to a wonderful book, 'Claiming Your Place at the Fire' by Leider & Shapiro. The title depicts the time honored principle of one generation passing knowledge and experience to the next. The 'fire' refers to the meeting point, in anthropology terms, where natives gather in the evenings. The elders have the best seats ie the innermost ring around the fire, the next generation forms the middle ring, and the most junior at the outermost ring. This is the time when history is defined, leadership instated, relationships affirmed, communal values shared, but most importantly it is when wisdom is passed on. Not much has changed since that inaugural meeting around a camp fire, has it? One only has to take a peep at any Board Meeting of an organized business, voila!

Our daughters have a famous expression when they are bored with our sermons, or when they are about to lose an argument with us .... Mom & Dad, this is my life! Granted it is a fact, they do not realize how much they have missed by passing up invaluable opportunities to learn from the older generations. Girls, spend time with 'The Sisters', and discover what they can offer.