Chayei Sarah

I am sitting in the blue chair with the Haftarah (Prophets) portion for today 1 Kings 1:1-31, balanced on my lap. I just sent a text to my son Roy - he is in Tucson and we visit by text when he is out of town. I am reading and thinking. King David, even on his death bed, could not escape intrigue. Adonijah trys to take the throne without David's knowledge or consent.

Plotting and schemes and ill treatment bubble up in families. Life is so hard, there is much sorrow, how much more is this magnified when you can not trust your wife or husband, or child, or parent.

I have been reading Diana's new book "An Echo in the Bone" and marked this quote the other night: "Home is where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
Right. But what if "they" are not safe, even when they take you in?

This afternoon I saw a very small, fragile looking little blond boy being yanked through Danny's car wash by his left arm, which was pulled unnaturally high up in the air by a woman who appeared to be his mother, grim faced and angry, loudly exclaiming that he could not "steal any candy this week!," pulling him toward the glass exit doors. Two blond wide eyed and somber little girls trailed after, one of the girls looked to be about 5. The smallest girl and the crying small boy looked about 2, perhaps twins?
I turned to Roy and said, how awful to have a mom who is so unkind and cruel, to yell at a baby about stealing! And literally drag him through the store by wrenching his arm.

I still feel bad about witnessing this scene and I now have a headache so I'll get some ibuprophen in a minute. What in the world is it like for those babies behind closed doors when the mother is so openly mean in public? I have two girls and a boy and I love them so much! And I do remember, not just in my head but I physically remember with my body, the feeling of reaching down and picking up my small child, the weight of holding, the embrace of my solid little baby hugging me back with arms around my neck.
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