It is just after 2 am. We have taken some time to celebrate Pascha, the feast of Easter, with our neighbors. I suspect that I have described the church services before. I will probably look to see later in the day. The service makes a dramatic transition from the dimly lit and somber church before midnight. As Easter Sunday begins, the congregation leaves and makes a processional around the church three times. After a ceremony in the vestibule, we are re admitted to a brightly lit and decorated church, full of smiling, happy people in their best Easter outfits.
I could see my wife from a distance. She was in the vestibule with Alice. I was outside on the porch. I tend to let people in front of me. She was crying. One of my former students who now has her as a teacher in high school asked me if she was ok. I told the student that she was just kind of sad.
The evening was like that. Smiles and tears. I am not especially religious. But I enjoy our church here. I am sure that there are many reasons that I feel that way. Part of it has to be the sense of community that exists here. We have been taken into the bosom of this place. We have not stood separate from it, as too many Bush teachers have, and we have been told how much that is appreciated. If we find that no one loves us when we return to the Lower 48, we know that there is one place where we are loved. It makes this parting so much harder...
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