Touchstone

This past week I had the privilege of chaperoning our granddaughter June’s K4 class on a field trip to the Betty Brinn Children’s museum. Bouncing around on that bus brought back memories of field trips with my own kids to the pumpkin farm and the annual end-of-the -year field trip to Kiddieland, an amusement park in Chicago, when I was in grade school.

There’s nothing like that quasi-queasy, spine-jolting feeling you get on a ride in a yellow school bus. Why is it that we can engineer a spacecraft to take astronauts to the far side of the moon and invent driverless cars, but no one seems to be able to come up with what it takes to give adults a comfortable ride on a school bus?

As I was focusing on the horizon to keep my breakfast down and numbing myself to the five- minute repetitive chant of “BREW-ERS, BREW-ERS, BREW-ERS” as we were passing Am-Fam field, I felt a little hand touch mine.

June, who was sitting in the seat in front of me with her two best buddies, reached around for my hand. In the midst of this chaotic, out of the ordinary, exciting adventure, she felt the need for something familiar. She needed something to feel grounded and secure. A touchstone.

What does it mean to be a touchstone for someone? According to Google:

Being someone’s touchstone means acting as their primary standard of value, stability, or truth, often serving as a grounding influence that defines their reality or quality of life. As a trusted reference point you represent reliability and a secure connection to their values or memories, helping them gauge authenticity and remain focused amidst chaos.

As a touchstone for someone, you are a benchmark against which others measure or evaluate their decisions. You help them feel secure and grounded in a fast-paced or chaotic world. You provide a true perspective, helping them distinguish what is real and worthwhile. You embody a significant, positive memory or a core value (like love, honesty or resilience) that they hold dear.

Your presence reveals the “true color” or best potential in a person’s life.

For most people, their first touchstone is their mother. When life gets hard, confusing, or scary, mom is there. But moms sometimes disappoint and moms aren’t there forever. We need to cultivate a forever touchstone.

So, on this day when we celebrate mothers of all kinds, let’s say a prayer of gratitude for our moms, our first touchstone and a prayer of gratitude to our forever touchstone.

Joan