During this period of creating and shaping new life, my thoughts have returned repeatedly to the concept of "Family". A concept that also features quite prominently -- in good ways, and bad -- this time of year.
Living, as I choose to, far from my biological family, I ever reminded and reassured of the vital importance of our "families of choice" -- the families and communities we choose and create for ourselves.
These associations and attachments and made openly, freely, fully and honestly, and serve great purposes in our lives. Connecting us to a larger and far more dynamic world, than the often tiny society of shared DNA.
Several years ago, whilst on a great Shakespeare adventure in Alaska, America's most vast and sparsely populated state, I was adopted into the Eagle Clan of the T'lingit tribe. A world of away from my rough-and-tumble New York City life, I'd immediately felt at home with the people of Yakutat, a lovely, remote fishing village in southeastern Alaska. The feeling was apparently mutual.
Today, a parcel arrived from my tribal sister, Inga, with Eagle Clan gifts for the DEB, Baby and me in advance of the new arrival. It included 3 Eagle feathers - one for each of us, as a reminder of our lineage. And, the most adorable pair of hand-made baby moccasins you ever did see!
I cannot wait to share with this child how loved he or she already is by a remarkable, extended global family.
