On Thursday I drove my grandparents and my eldest step-son to Northern Utah to stay with a relative overnight for a funeral in southern Idaho on Friday. The Funeral was for the wife of a neighbor and friend of my grand-parents who had been in care for the last four years. This particular couple had been married for (count them!) sixty-eight, yes, that’s 68 years!
It is a humbling thought, and impressive!
To boot, the the relatives we stayed with are a man who is in his final months with cancer, and expected to pass on soon, and his wife, who is bravely facing an almost certain future which could only be changed by some sort of trauma like a car accident.
As a husband, and a father, this trip really did make me think about my wife, and my kids, and how much I appreciate them, and how I fill my roles to them.
You could add to it the fact I was with my own grandparents and I watched them struggle with so many things on this trip.
It has not been a depressing trip for me as I see the eventualities of life as inevitable. There is always a risk of losing a spouse or a child, and I have seen it happen with too many people. But I have seen those people carry on, and make a life that honors the ones that have passed away. I have seen the opposite happen as well. I know where I would rather be on that spectrum. But for this moment I get to stand in the sun, no shade cast on me, I want to spare a thought for those I love, for those I have loved and lost, and include family and friends, and keep them in my heart as I fall asleep, to remember how thankful I am for each, and how important they all are to me.
Kelsey Bacon
The Granary
How The West Was Won: Wire & Wood
The Tack Barn 1
The Tack Barn 2
Polar Opposites
Any favorites? Comments? Did you see a rat made of snow?
KB