In Loving memory...

Today marks the one year anniversary of my father's death. For those of you who have lost parents, or any loved one for that matter, those "firsts" always seem to capture our attention and magnify our thoughts and feelings.

For me it's been a quiet day of just remembering. Happy times. Memories of days gone by. My childhood. Countless hours spent fishing. In the woods picking blackberries and all sorts of fun endeavors. My father's love for gardening. His endless creativity, knowledge, and passion for so many pursuits in life. All the ways he shared and gave of himself through the years to so many people. Whether it was helping our elderly neighbors, or supplying the nursing home with strawberries from his garden to make shortcake for the 100+ residents, or delivering meals on wheels for years, or learning to sew in order to donate 100's of quilts for missions.

Strawberries from his garden. Besides the delicious shortcakes and pies we would make from these, an all-time favorite was the freezer jam we would make. Nothing tasted better on a piece of toasted homeade bread {compliments of my mom's awesome culinary skills} than strawberry freezer jam. Makes me wonder why I've never made this for my own children. These are the simple things from my childhood that warm my heart even to this day.

But what really strikes a chord in me today is not the fact that he lived to be 87, despite being told by doctors that the rare, tropical lung disease he contracted while serving in World War II had no victims who lived past 39 years of age. Rather, it was the life he packed into those years.

He rose above the obstacles in his life. And there were many. But he didn't let them have the last say or completely control his life. He pursued a multitude of passions and always found a way to share them with others.

A flower arrangement my father made and sent to me back in the 80's while I was living in Texas. He discovered "dried flowers" one year while browsing through his seed catalogs. He decided to give them a whirl. They were a big hit. He grew his own flowers, dried them, and added them to the mix of his offerings each week at the local farmer's market. He literally made 100's of different arrangements. Even had orders for weddings to be used during the receptions on the tables or at the end of the church pews.

So as I spend a more quiet day in reflection, the one thing I want to learn well from my father's legacy is to rise above the obstacles life hands out. For sure, life can be full of disapointments, setbacks, and circumstances we have no control over. But we don't have to allow them to take more than they ought. In fact, they can increase our determination to find all the good that is still left. Because it's there. And if we take it full circle, like my father did, we can find a way to share it with others. After all, isn't that {sharing our lives with others} what truly brings us real joy? I think so. A favorite photo of my parents taken at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration back in 1997. Among his many gifts, he was very musically inclined. With very little prompting, he agreed to share a song using my sister's guitar.