Page 2 - MidWeek Kauai - Nov 3, 2021

2 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK NOVEMBER 3, 2021
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LIGHT
with Rüdiger “Rudy” Herzing Rückmann
Our mother, up the hill from the field at our grand- parents’ home, heard her children’s elation. She de- scended a steep dirt drive- way, espied us, and stood stock still against a backdrop of pine trees. We could see her face was frozen, her lips struggling to move, but she could not speak. Confused,
Life changed for my sister and me in that moment. For decades, even after feeling ready to enter the vast fields of college, careers, marriage and parenthood, our joy has
Rüdiger “Rudy” Herzing Rückmann is a Quaker, poet and director of advancement at Hawai‘i Youth Symphony.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
To Sing In Rattlesnake Fields
“The person who risks nothing ... may avoid suffering and sorrow, but ... simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live, and love.” — Leo Buscaglia
After playing in grassy fields potentially wrought with rattlesnake nests, the author learned that much of life is being able to balance courage with caution.
Years ago, my sister and I ran through a valley of tall grass chasing butterflies on an end- less summer day. Our sing- ing and boundless laughter broke through the silence of the vast field surrounded by the well-worn mountains of Appalachia.
to take. In-person learning? Only after being vaccinated. Playing with other children outdoors? Possibly, with her mask. Eating inside a restau- rant? Not for a while.
we ran toward her, breath- less and anticipating her embrace. After she hugged us longer than usual, she was able to find her words: “Nev- er play in that field again. You could have fallen right onto rattlesnake nests.”
always been leavened with caution.
Of course, we know that as parents, we have a long road ahead. We will need to teach our daughter to balance being alert for rattlesnake nests with courageously savoring the journey before her; to respect boundaries but appreciate limitless possibilities; to learn to hold back but not be afraid to pass through dark forests to find bright fields — where she can sing with abandon.
Caution hangs over us still, well into the second year of the pandemic. My daughter, not yet a teenager, born with an extra chromosome and having already overcome obstacles, wants to resume exploring the world she has known more than half her life since we moved to Hawai‘i. My husband and I navigate the daily risks we are willing
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