Happy Thanksgiving to You and Your Family
As the holiday season nears, I've accepted the fact COVID-19 will prevent David and me from making our annual holiday trip to California to visit family and friends this year. The one saving grace is my daughter, Dawn, will come down to spend the holidays with us here in Costa Rica. If you're able to be safe and with your loved ones, count yourself lucky.
Hurricane Eta displaced 773 people in Costa Rica last month, now Hurricane Iota is headed our way. In addition, we still have many people in Quepos and Manuel Antonio who lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Locals Ruth and Harry Rosen lead our team of volunteers who meet every Thursday, at Barba Roja, to cook, plate, and deliver warm meals for those in need. It's a joy to assist these families, and such a blessing helping others makes us feel so good.
Speaking of families, I fully understand how Dian fell in love with mountain gorillas and came to feel as if they were family. Gorillas are affectionate, kind, playful, and fierce protectors of their family members. Up to ten adult gorillas may die to save an infant from being kidnapped and sold to an unscrupulous zoo.
I came back from Rwanda with a new perspective on parenting and family after David and I visited the mountain gorillas for the first time in 1985. I marveled at how gorilla mothers cared for their babies with love and focused attention. If a baby strayed too far out on a branch, the mother reached out and placed her offspring on her back. She didn’t reprimand her baby but rather taught by example. I still remember an early day in the field with Group Five as I watched Effie shower her daughter Mahane with kisses and devotion. It was an ah-ha moment, so that’s how it’s done. I couldn’t stop the tears.
The divorce rate may be in decline in the U.S. but there are still plenty of kids who come from broken homes. Dian Fossey did, and so did I. Dian had no father figure to protect her from harm, and her mother was more interested in being a socialite than in being a mother. Like gorilla groups, our families and friends are the fabric we wrap around ourselves when we deal with life's challenges.
This was a roller coaster of a year but we’re on the cusp of a new one, so it’s time to begin looking ahead. I look forward to finishing Voices from the Mist, and to revealing the real Dian Fossey. It’s important to be fully present and enjoy the little things here and now. Stay safe, keep dry, take care of yourself and your loved ones, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Be Your Own Hero
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