When I Look

When I look at my mother, I see strength. I see the battle wounds of past arguments and the surging bright light of passionate beliefs. I see the love of a soldier fighting for her world-- her family and the beat of a woman's heart that has been shared 12 times over.

When I look at my father, I see unshaken foundation. I see the brimming love he possesses for my mother and the hardworking back he throws into his job for his family. I see the passion he applies to every weekend project, every farmland duty, every carpentry job, every handyman labor.

When I look at my brother Michael, I see leadership. I see a man who has carved the way, the way into a full life of love and family. I see the misgivings of the past washed eternally away into the promises of the future.

When I look at my sister Mary, I see valor. I see the courage that spouts from her actions through her daily duties as a mother and as a servant of social work. I see her eyes alit with a happiness that is sought for years by strangers, obtained by few.

When I look at my brother Bill, I see unbending work ethic. I see a man who has always seemed to understand the value of hard work and commitment. A man of the law, a man of his two strong hands and capable mind.

When I look at my brother Rob, I see freed passion. I see an artist, a businessman, a preacher of sorts and a believer of life. A man of unsurpassed intuition and never-ceasing longing. An eclectic soul with a brilliant future ahead of him.

When I look at my sister Evelyn, I see a beautiful desire for balance. I see her heart passed along in eagerness, a book that lays open yet with invisible ink, readable to only those who possess the blacklight. I see a heart that bursts for those she loves.

When I look at my brother Joe, I see great faith and fortitude. The only person in the world that I know who has stuck to his 12 year-old self word. A person who always surprises me with his knowledge, his foresight and his understanding of the world around him.

When I look at my sister Sarah, I see acceptance and heartfelt understanding. I see a woman who opens her eyes each morning with positivity and embraces the sunlight, and even the passing storms, with her heart.

When I look at my sister Christina, I see a heart swollen with the art of giving. I see a young woman who has taken great pride in her life, her relationships and her abilities. I see a person who holds onto the key of life and guards it for those who truly need it.

When I look at my sister Nell, I see compassion. I see someone who rarely thinks of herself before others, a young woman who truly appreciates the world around her and wants great things to happen not just to herself, but to others.

When I look at my brother Sam, I see fiery conviction. I see a young man who wants more for the world he lives in, and more for the world around him. I see an unmet desire to grow into a person of not personal value, but worldwide value.

And when I look at my sister Gabrielle, I see wisdom. I see the final building block of the Powell family; she has absorbed the pasts of her older siblings and has taken part in the final growth. I see soft giggles that carry the tribe of 12.

2014

2014. The New Year has passed with its charmless confetti. The frozen Massachusetts ground, with the green hair of summer browning with the chilled scrape of winter's comb, welcomed half-heartedly the passing snow showers. Christmas, as it were, was teased and tousled with the notion of a white coating. The snow soon melted and aptly fled when the lit tree twinkled in the early morning of the 25th.

I knew the flakes would fall again.

There is great faith that comes with the weather. As a child looks to the night's sky, the flickering stars like candles in the dark windows of their only known home,  I know that the winter's blackened slate held hope and wonder. If you squeeze your eyes tightly enough and the world can transform.

Transform it did.

7 years in the making and the family has reunited. All 12 siblings fell back into the world together, tumbling from their current stations in life and celebrated the holiday together once again. Families forming, new additions and happy children. Laughter and love filled our little country town, the snow  softly skirting the Powell Home, nudging the family back together again.

December 2014
Bottom Row, Left to Right, sitting: Adriana (Mike's wife), Mike holding onto daughter Lily, Sam, Robert, Joseph, Gabe the Dog
Middle Row, Left to Right, sitting: Zachary (Mary's son) on Mama's lap, Papa, Ava (Mike's daughter)
Back Row,  Left to Right, standing: Sarah, Nina, Nell, Bill, Marlena (Bill's wife), Barbara (me), Don (Mary's husband) holding Jaymes (Mary's son), Mary, Brian (Evelyn's husband), Evelyn and Gabrielle.