It rained this past March 31. I remember because it was the day we laid my wife to rest. We huddled together at the graveside. In part because of the rain. In part to be close. The tears fell like the gentle shower that gathered in pools atop the canopy and spilled over the edge. […]
Letter: Awake! Awake!
It is a cry for help. A supplication from the depths of despair, a pouring out of grief even as the skies pour down an onslaught of side-ways driven rain. When? When will there be peace for this troubled heart? And where? Where will I find love again following so great a loss? The appeal […]
Letter: She Said ‘Yes’
The ocean – with its crashing waves and mournful fog horn; and the quiet harbor, where we snuggled together on the porch of our little rental cottage, cradling our early morning brew, coffee for me, cocoa for her – is irresistible. So was she. It was the whole cross-the-crowded-room first glimpse that became a second […]
Letter: The End of the Day
Today she has been gone but six months. And this evening, as with most evenings, I will return again to our quiet place by the lake. Sometimes finding myself bewildered and anxious, I have discovered that here my soul grows still. Unsettled and weary, I lay aside my garden tools as the evening draws on, […]
Letter: Spellbound
Pliny the Elder, Roman author, naturalist, and navy and army commander of the early Roman Empire (AD 23), called this flower enchanted, magical, charming, because it was believed that evil spells had no effect where it grew. Now I know why it has made an appearance almost overnight in our family flower garden. Here we […]
Letter: “Beautiful and Glorious”
My best guess, after researching pine trees, is that this little volunteer sprout is all of five months old, given it is but four inches tall. Five months ago, even as this little pine tree wannabe would germinate in the spring, I lost my wife to cancer. Her oncologist said it was inevitable. They’d done […]
Letter: Beauty for Ashes
My wife was sleeping on the couch in the family room but as I gently lifted her feet to make room for me, she awakened. “What time is it?” she asked. “Three in the morning,” I replied. “Why are you up so early?” I didn’t immediately reply but just took her hand with one of […]
Letter: I Needed This
The salmon were running. My brother had caught a 25 lb king salmon – his largest salmon ever – not a month before. But when he called to invite me to join him on his boat, it was less about catching fish than catching up. He’d been to my wife’s graveside. And he came to […]
Letter: On Going Back to School
What does it take to defend the castle against fire-breathing dragons? Even, and maybe especially if you are the princess and not the prince? More problematic, what if you are so small in stature that your sword is longer than you are tall? The answer to this and most if not all challenges in life […]