When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, the Peace sign was everywhere and Love was in the air. My generation believed that they could solve everything. I graduated from high school in 1970 in a quiet little New Jersey town, leaving for the University of Maryland that fall, where the world opened up for me. I wasn’t aware of how those two words defined my generation. I was never really part of the “movement” but thought that peace and love were meaningful, the signs that were made pretty, and hoped maybe our generation could make a difference in the world. I watched the campus protests against the war, dealt with the campus curfews every evening, and saw 20 somethings unafraid to speak their minds. Top ten songs included “Bridge over Troubled Water” and “Let it Be” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” songs that had meaning in their words.

Fast forward to today, and we then 20 somethings are now in our 60s and 70s. We still want to be heard, we still fear the unknown, and we still hope for justice in the world. As we continue to stretch forward we need to remember that hope. We need to look for what is good in our world and embrace it. We need to stay home and stay safe. My husband and I take a walk each day and he is patient as I stop to take pictures of the trees and flowers that change every day as we see nature demonstrating that life goes on. We can and will bloom during this pandemic as we continue to look for peace and love. I remember the song, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” by the Byrds, written by Pete Seeger. It reminds us “to everything there is a season…” Be 20 again, take the trust you had then, embrace it, and keep stretching forward. Peace and love are still here.