The Privileged

I am privileged.

I have been given an opportunity that very few people will ever experience in their life. 

This privilege does not raise me above other people, but rather gives me the perception to see eye to eye.

I was privileged to grow up in a community where color and race existed as a masterpiece of community, painted with love and valued as family! We were all neighbors, who became family and allowed our different backgrounds to marinate together in a flavorful abundance of love and community.

This family was rich in diversity. We lived life together in unity and celebrated each other. From Christmas parties to 4th of July BBQ's, we did life in a way that was beautiful. 

I was privileged to eat many different kinds of foods, celebrate in different holidays in different ways and experience love from many people. 

 I was raised for a time by Dorothy Woods, who helped my mom when she had back surgery. We swam in Brian's pool. I still have the wooden cradle my Crailford Court grandpa made me, who lived across the street.  We planted trees, slid in cardboard boxes down hills, raced in our Radio flyers and took walks

Some of us moved away, but we had already become a family, so we had a yearly reunion to stay connected. We went to high school and college graduations; We celebrated Jess and Maria Musquez​​'s Daughter getting married (she was the first of us kids); we had baby showers and birthday parties and get togethers.  We cried together because of divorce; we hurt for Dorothy Woods who had a stroke too early in life and for Kevin, her son, who also had a stroke too early in life. We grieved as a family when our sister Jennifer Clark died way too young!

More recently, when my mom was dying, all of the Crailford Court moms came to say their goodbyes to their sister. 

We were privileged to see color, religion and race as beautiful and rich. We were privileged to just be a family, as we are today.... If more people focused and strived for the privilege I had as a child and as an adult today, this world would be a more beautiful place.

 That privilege was given by God. The privilege to see people for who they are and not where they came from, the color of their skin or the money they have, the religion they follow, the mistakes they made.  That is the privilege called love, true agape love that is undefiled  and pure. 

It was the closest thing to a Utopian society I have ever seen or experienced. Only the Utopian state was not in equality of jobs or money or things, but rather a state of mind. A mindset that gave me the most solid foundation of love for all humankind. I have that Utopian mindset etched into my DNA and I am thankful for the privilege that Crailford Court Community gave me to experience such a marvelous perception of life!

My Crailford Court family was an anomaly in a stitch in time where all the elements were perfect to breed such a marvelous expression of love that we all still share today.