It is an expression that has historic and significant meaning for me; it is my mom’s “by-word”. If you are not familiar with the term “by-word”; that is a refined female Southern Baptist’s curse word. “Oh my word” is the strongest exclamation, amazement, or frustration that has ever been uttered in my mom’s eighty-five years of breathing. “Oh my word” is as big and loud as it gets. “Oh my word” tells you - “THIS IS SIGNIFICANT! THIS IS URGENT! THIS IS WONDERFUL! THIS IS CRITICAL!” In any event, “Oh my word” means stop what you are doing and pay attention to what is happening. So when our daughter shared she was a recipient of a 2011 Fulbright Scholar’s grant to teach in the Republic of Macedonia there was more than one “Oh My Word” uttered in our family. It was a chain reaction of “Oh my words.
“Oh My Word”, the excitement was overwhelmingly intense! It was of an historic nature, the kind of moment that you will always remember. Great moments like the birth of a child, wedding vows, winning the biggest game or historic moments like the death of JFK or the bombing of 9/11 that etch themselves permanently into our memories. It was a moment whose imagery will be forever imbedded into my memory. The surroundings and events of this moment are etched; the moment when your normal daily experience is interrupted by something powerful, unique, and dramatic.
Tim and I were leaving the house to head to Omaha for hair cuts; Jen called my cell phone and asked us to stop by to see her for a moment. I popped into the house and she handed me a piece of mail. “I think this is for you”, she calmly said. I opened the big brown envelope and immediately saw the Fulbright logo and letterhead. I didn’t read far to know it was an acceptance, the awarding of a grant. Jen was a Fulbright.
The envelope was for me? Well, in a mother’s sense yes it was for me! It was for me a moment that will linger forever in my memory! I could paint the picture of where I was standing, the aroma, the sounds, the light coming into the room at that very moment! And the welling up inside of a sense of honor, pride, and excitement unique to the mother/ daughter bond.
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| Great Joy - Jen has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and grant! |
My daughter had been selected by the State Department to represent the United States, to take out into the world an opportunity to learn and share. She would be a part of bridging cultures and helping the world become more unified. She had been selected as a bridge to greater understanding and brotherhood. The world is a big place, getting smaller with technology; but none the less a big place and now for each of us in our family and for our friends, it was being given a great opportunity to become much, much smaller. Yes, while it was her dream come true and it was her win; it was still a piece of mail also for me. My life would change in parallel to hers. Our lives would be changed by her new role. The world would be changed by her new role.
“Glad Tidings of Great Joy” come in many different packages.... even manilla envelopes!
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