T’was the morning before Christmas and four days since Chanukah Past, and 48 hours until Kwanza as well as other holiday specials to cheer us on (or give us pause to applaud!) It has also been awhile since I’ve taken the time to write a DVasha Series blog. My mother (and my pops) surround me each day. I feel their presence in some manner whether it is a word I use or one I hear someone else say. I see their faces in pictures around my home, but also, they peer out at me as I drive down the road from behind the clouds or as I look out my dining room window I know they are checking in and making sure that I am moving forward (and not just me.)

Did you know we never go back(ward) we are always moving in a forward motion, even when we trip, stumble and fall? We find a way to pick ourselves up and keep trudging through life, and some of us do it with more of an athletic or ballerina ease. However, to gain that ease it takes constant training and re-enforcement and not just from within your core, but from outside, you and I must learn to trust and become a family and return to the basic of living.

Let me return to my family, and how we celebrated Chanukah, it was unlike what I witnessed as I grew up and I became more associated with global society. Our celebration began with home-made decorations, some very crude in design made by children (my brothers and me) at very young ages, and others a bit more sophisticated by mom and dad with real artistic value. However, together they blended in, and our home was festive and the brightness of the holiday lasted eight days plus.

Gifts for Chanukah were just as simple and may have included gelt, money, as little as nickels, dimes and quarters adding up to $1.00. Back in the day receiving a silver dollar to be placed in a safe place for the future was the most precious gift of all. We also got crayons, or a coloring book, or a board game that was meant for the family and upon receiving we all sat around and played for hours until our eyes drooped and we were ushered off to bed. But, momma always made up a batch of potato latkes and some homemade desert often her chocolate chip cookies, or an apple pie, or dad’s favorite chocolate cake. The holiday was never about spending the most or having the biggest and the best; it was family time. (Sometimes family time did bring out the best and the worst of us, but in the end, we always knew, we loved and cared for each other and still do!)

I share this with you today as I think about my momma and pops and ask you to reflect not only on the past but on what you want for yourself and others as you continue to move forward. What will your legacy be? What will your children, nieces, nephews, or friends remember about you?

My parent’s left a legacy for my brothers and me. Words by Harmon, poems written by my father to many will now become part of newclevelandradio.net. It is time to share his words that may change the landscape of the chaos we are living in and help us move forward with ease. You may read his words or chose to ignore them, that is what democracy is all about choice. We need to start making decisions and working as a whole, not as individuals. Bring your options to the forefront and communicate them in a civil way. J Harmon Moss taught me that!

DVasha, I have spoken of her many times, and I will never be able to express enough love for this woman, my mom! I thought she loved my brother Joel more then she loved me, and she wanted me to be a clone of my cousin Gloria Siegel (whom I adored.) But the truth of the matter is, I was blind and did see or hear what she was trying to tell me, she loved deeply, and she loved me too, I just had to open my heart to feel it! Momma taught me to open my heart even though she could be the bigot in the family (sorry mom.) Mom protected herself by speaking out and sometimes offending others, yet never on purpose. I learned as she traveled through the end of her life she was not the secure feisty lady she appeared to be, but she put up a front taking one step forward at a time. I am grateful for the lessons she has left with me.

My legacy to my family – I have not been the perfect mom to my oldest son, Steve. However, I have tried. I love my first born with all my heart and with every breath I take. I have made sacrifices for him that are much different than those for Alex, my youngest son. They are both so different, and yet in many ways, they are clones of each (they may or may not like me saying that.) Both of my boys are my world. We have had our challenges, but as we celebrate this holiday season and move into 2018, I leave them with one thought, LOVE.

L = Live – enjoy life, find the sunshine each day behind the clouds and smile. Find the good in yourself and share it with someone.
O = One – is not alone, you don’t have to be number one or be alone. You have the choice to be who you want to be. You can change yourself at any time. Leave one special sparkle behind, YOU.
V = Vulnerable – we all are, you are! Mistakes are the stepping stones to learning. When you were babies, you tripped and fell before you learned to walk, but you are walking, running and achieving now. You are as vulnerable as the next guy, but you are not alone, and you must keep living.
E = Everyone – feels the same way you do but may express it differently. We all have challenges and obstacles to overcome. That is the vulnerability of life, and if we accept that we don’t have to be the only one and do it alone, we can enjoy life and live.

All I want is LOVE!