Sunday, July 19, 2009

Life's Lessons

Why is it that the tragic loss of a loved one is usually followed by such clear and meaningful thoughts of personal intent and life direction. I liken those moments to a good stomach punch, and am left wondering why I haven't lived each day as though it will be my last. I suppose with death there is finality and the fear of never seeing that person again, so in order to cope we seek out what meaning and lessons we can take from having known that person.

Thankfully, we have learned so much from our friend Tom and his wife Kathryn in the 12 years that we have known them and I am certain that we won't be the only folk to 'live out the gospel of Tom', as Kathryn put it. Robin and I spent much of the two day return drive to the Kootenays remembering Tom and talking about the urgency to live fully.

We made it back safely to our idyllic summer retreat and have spent the last couple of days decompressing and catching up on sleep. The garden is in full bloom and our biggest decisions of the day are what to harvest for supper. We've also taken our intentions to heart to spend time with those that we love and have had some great visits already with friends, both new and old.

A close friend of Tom's who had also made the trip to Oregon for the funeral, Martin and his wife Andra and their two kids, Ben and Freya, came through and stayed with us enroute to their home in Saskatchewan. They overnighted here and we were happy to spend a few hours showing them around the gardens, picked some raspberries and took them on a tour of our home and kiln, down the highway before they deadheaded it to Alberta.

The kids have been blissed out to not be strapped in their carseats anymore and to be able to run through the sprinkler, jump on the trampoline and help pick (eat) ripe berries, all while we've got in some great visits with my friend Josee, Grandpa Wes and the delightful Druitt family that spent the entire day with us here today. I really do feel lucky to be spending the summer in this beautiful place with so many of our loved ones close by.

1 comment:

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