Anniversary

A year ago, we were at Cannon Beach for two nights. Our entire summer vacation. We had a wonderful time. I took pictures on the beach with light that I'd never seen anywhere in life.

It was a glimpse of heaven. It was a way of preparing and reassuring us for what lay ahead: The news of Jean's brain tumor and the struggle to come to terms with the risks of surgery and recovery. It was an experience of a lifetime, a journey neither of us will forget.

Our bodies are aging. We aren't the youngsters we once were. But there is still so much that we can do. Jean is back to painting and sewing. Even when she decides not to keep the card she was working on--even when she doesn't consider it good enough--even then I feel blessed by the sight of her painting "studio".

It's the top of our dining table bought from a second hand store for $15 in 1973. We were newly back in the USA and setting up housekeeping here for the first time. It's still the only table we've ever owned. This morning, it held all the makings for 43 quarts of dill pickles. This afternoon her painting tools, this evening our dinner.

How many days and nights we have sat across from each other at that table! How much living has been done there! How huge a void in my life and the world if she weren't here.

God, thanks for keeping us together and for giving us this past year of life. Amen.

Pax,

Roger