Healing the Wounds

I love November.  I guess I love being thankful.  Having lived in a third world country, your life is touched in a special way.  I still smile when I turn on the lights and have a warm shower.  November means Thanksgiving, Veterans’ Day, a time for reflection.  America is great – not perfect, but great.  We have so much.  So today as I voted, I thought about the privilege we have to live in a country with so many freedoms.  And resources.

One resource I love is books.  I’m thankful that we have the privilege to use libraries and read books.  I love Scholastic Book Clubs where I can purchase my own books.  Books provide stories that enlighten my world.  They make me think, reflect.

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II by Lita Judge is another book that makes me thankful for what I have.  This book is similar to Boxes for Katje, as posted Nov. 2, in that a family reaches beyond themselves to help others.  In Lita’s author’s note, she states:

“I found a dusty box while cleaning out my grandmother’s attic.  Inside were hundreds of aged, yellowed envelopes from all over Europe containing foot tracings of every size.“

I met Lita Judge at the Michigan Reading Conference last March 2008.  She stated that the book was based on her grandparents’ relief initiative.  Thank you, Lita, for sharing the story.  As I read the story, I reflected.  On family.  On resources.  On others.

Take time this Thanksgiving season to reflect on what you have and be thankful.  Read a historical narrative and allow the story captured to move your heart.  You can write your own story by helping someone in need.  Just do the act of kindness.  You’ll be blessed.

Savorings for reading and in writing for One Thousand Tracings:

• Vignettes – time passes through the glimpses of history
• Letter writing – Mama writes letters to friends and family, imploring their help
• Character reflection – “I thought about that little girl; she was my age…. I wanted Eliza to have something nice.“