Ascension : News From The Grotto - Thought For The Week
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 08.01.2009 (Article Archived on 22.01.2009)

The Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrates the Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

 It is a good time to reflect on our own families and how much they mean to us.  Having just had a wonderful little addition to my family, I know how special it is.  And for the many of us that are so far from our families, we know how difficult it is to be away from them.  Since today is also my eldest’s birthday, it is especially poignant to me.

We will soon be saying good-bye to a family that we have been lucky to have as our friends for a couple of years now, the Guilds.  Derrick and Lorna, and their daughters Rosa and Sylvie have been involved in island life since their arrival.  Rosa has been one of my wonderful Brownies, and will be missed.  They have enjoyed their time on Ascension, but now it is time to head back to Scotland and resume their lives there.  We say farewell, good luck and thanks for enriching our lives.

I love to see the young children on Ascension.  What a marvelous place to raise kids.  It is safe from so many of the dangers that haunt other places in the world, and is a giant adventure playground.  It reminds me of my summers spent where I now have a house.  The countryside, forests and river afforded my brothers, cousins and friends space to play and invent worlds from our imagination where we were explorers, conquerors and royalty.  Here, the children have a wonderful world in which to let their imaginations run riot.  Rosa and Sylvie are lucky to be of an age where they will always remember their stay on Ascension.  And I’m sure Mum & Dad have enough pictures to remind them of their time on Ascension if the memories ever dim with the passing of time!

Family is so important to all of us, even if we don’t appreciate it.  We all come from widespread families.  Every family has its beloved members, along with the eccentric members.  Most have some internal strife, some have managed to overcome this.  But families are fluid; we lose members, we gain people through birth, marriage and adopted friends.  Family brings us our greatest joys, and sometimes, our saddest heartbreaks.  We all have loved ones lost to us, but who will live on in our memories forever.

So, during this week in which we honour the Holy Family, let us remember our own families, near and far, and give thanks for each and every one of them.  May God bless them all, those still with us, and may He hold those who have gone before us in His arms forever.          ----------------

First of all, let me wish each and every one of you a very happy, healthy and safe New Year.  It doesn’t seem possible to me that this is the sixth New Year for me here on Ascension.  How time flies, especially, as they say, when you’re having fun!  When I look back over my time here, I realize how many changes have happened in my life during those years, good and bad.  But luckily for me, things seem to be going better for my family lately, and we are all very happy for that fact.  The arrival of my grandson just seems to cement the belief that better times lie ahead.

New Year’s is a time for resolutions.  So many we make will be broken all too soon; the diets, the promises to exercise more, and all the others like this.  The resolutions we need to really make, and concentrate on are really simpler in some ways, and tougher in others.  These are the resolutions to simply be a better person, and to do what we can to be a good friend to those we meet with.

As I have said so many times before, friends are so important to us all here on Ascension.  The Island, by virtue of its purpose, has a transient population for the most part.  We meet so many wonderful people, and before we know it, they’re leaving.  And then there are those we meet ever so briefly.  I had the opportunity to meet some of the yachters visiting our island last week.  Kevin, being a fellow Canadian, was fun to talk to, even if he comes from the other end of our vast homeland.  His partner Georgie is from South Africa.  And Peter was from Australia.  Where else can we meet people from so many diverse backgrounds as a matter of course? 

In my former life I was a sailor as well, although I stuck mainly to an inland waterway system.  It has always been one of my dreams to sail off into the big blue ocean and explore the world.  So, when given the chance to talk to those who have actually followed their dream, it is a great opportunity to live my dream vicariously through their adventures!  I had the chance to visit Peter on his boat and really see what an ocean-going vessel needs and has.  I wish we’d had more time to talk about his adventures and the places he has visited.  But they were soon sailing over the horizon on their next great adventures.

Dreams are sometimes just that: dreams.  Many will never become reality, I know that.  But just to dream enriches our lives so much.  When we dream about something like my dream to sail around the world it leads us to find out more about those who have followed a similar dream.  I have read so many books about sailors; families, couples, and solo sailors, and the places they have visited.  I’m sure it is as close as I will ever get to these remote and wonderful places, but it is a pleasure to hear about them.

And I realize that I am living another of the dreams I have always had.  It was always a dream of mine to live on an island that was warm all year.  And if it was remote, that was all the better!  Well, I’m sure that everyone would agree; I couldn’t have had my dream answered any better than to find myself on Ascension!  I truly believe that fate, and God’s hand, was at work when I found my way here.  The convoluted path that I followed to get here couldn’t be explained any other way.  And I am grateful every day.

While I admit to being a bit envious of people like Kevin, Georgie and Peter and their lives as they sail around the world, I am in no way jealous of them.  I am glad for them that they had the nerve, the opportunity and the courage to follow their dreams.  I know that by living and working on Ascension I am living a dream that many others have.  I have many friends and relatives back home who feel the same envy for me.  Even those who would not take the opportunity to relocate if it was presented to them are still happy to see pictures and hear stories of my life here.  I know that for many, I am living their dream.

And so I am grateful and thank God for the opportunities that have come my way in my life.  And I thank God for giving me the courage to follow one of my dreams.  And to have the other dreams that keep me inquisitive and interested in the wide world beyond my horizons.  My resolution for the next year can be summed up very simply:  Be the best person I can be and live this wonderful life that God has given me to the fullest.  I know that there will be bumps in the road, but that is all part of life.  These are the speed bumps of our lives, they may slow us down, but they don’t need to become a barricade, just a reminder of why we should appreciate and enjoy the good times as much as we can.