Circle of Life - Andorra Mary Zimmerman

Yesterday was the arrival call; today the naming e-mail for Andorra Mary Zimmerman, the first baby in the next generation of our family was ushered (move that "r" to the front, drop an "e" and you get the more accurate description "rushed") into this world, and as I am fond of saying lately, what a wonderful world this can be.

Andorra Mary's journey starts on July 28, 2008, and the world that she will see will, with luck and blessings, last into the next century. Hard to imagine. What will that world look like (see Shift Happens for a clue as to the direction) and what part will Andora Mary play in shaping the world (or a piece of the world)? I know that she is blessed with wonderful, caring parents who will introduce her to the wonders of the world and instill in her a sense of responsibility, and who will teach her the meaning od love and commitment that they demonstrate for each other.

How fitting that in the same calendar month in which Andorra Mary's great grandmother (from whom she gets the name Mary) passed away after a full and fulfilling life), this child is born. Although I believe in neither fate nor destiny, I do believe that people can set a path for themselves. Perhaps Andora Mary will be guided in part by the legacy of her paternal great grandmother, Mary Arbitman Fellman, and perhaps by her maternal great grandmother, Ann, and my bet is that she will take the best from each of them. Perhaps some of the material from the web page on Mary and Morris Fellman will give her a flavor of who her paternal great grandparents were, and perhaps similar materials will be passed on for her maternal great grandparents.

Perhaps it is appropriate to quote the first verse of "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King by Tim Rice:

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

Perhaps it is less appropriate to offer my own verse:

Each life has a beginning
And each life has an end
The hope and the prayer of all
Should be to find and to be a good friend

Each day is a journey
There are choices to be made
Whether to live in the bright rainbow
Or just let the colors fade

Time passes by so quickly
That's a lesson our elders teach
Most cannot understand the message
For most it is beyond their reach

So live life fully
Use the best that you possess
So in the end you'll smile
Having nothing to confess

Each day is a new beginning
Starting where the last stopped with sleep
Each day is an opportunity
For the promises you want to keep.