7:38 p.m.
You see, every year we buy a couple Christmas tree ornaments that signify something meaningful in one of our lives that year. I bought a gorgeous white pear with a thick green velvet ribbon the year Jack was seven months old because, aptly, it was his favorite food. We have two Hawaiian ones, a trolley from San Fransisco, and a brand-new bright yellow school bus. We have a shiny red ball with the numbers 26.2 proudly stamped in white iridescent paint. We have a butterfly to remember the summer Jack charmingly called them B-B-Byes. Charlie got a dinosaur this year because he's obsessed with things like Giganotasauruses and Troodans, and can correctly tell you that Pteranodons are, in fact, not dinosaurs.
I didn't go out searching for it. But when I saw it, I had to have it. This motorcycle is dedicated to Uncle Tom. His death continues crack and peel my heavy heart, but there are these evanescent moments when the warmness, the joy, the fullness of how he lead his life becomes my defining memory. And then the hurt hurts a little less and there's a meager, yet determined trace of light penetrating the cracks.
Beautiful picture and beautiful memories.
ReplyDeleteI knew before even reading it that the pic and ornament were for Tom. I thought about your family a lot over the holiday - wondering how you were managing. The holidays are never easy, but they do get easier...
ReplyDeleteI'm going back and looking at all your recent posts. I feel as if I've gotten to know your family in the past months. I couldn't let this one pass without saying how it touched me. I think the ornament is a wonderful tribute to someone you loved so much.
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