Ham Lake, MN with Dee and family
Saturday, May 9, 2009
It has been a year since Rick died. Dee was able to round up the whole family for a dinner and time of remembrance.
Sat down to diner with 11 people; Dee, Celeste & Cynthia, Cassandra, Dillon, Dorothea, Mike, their Pastor and his wife, Jim and me. The food was good – a group effort consisting of potato salad by Priscilla and Dee; fruit salad by Cassandra; burgers and bratwurst prepared by Celeste and grilled by Dillon. Then there was pie for dessert! Apple, Strawberry/Rhubarb, and Chocolate Silk. Yum, yum.
After dinner Pastor acknowledged that the family had now experienced many firsts – the first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first birthday, etc. without Rick/Dad. He asked that we share whatever was on our hearts but did not have to share at all if we didn’t want to. He asked us to think about what emotions we had felt. Where had we been sad, where had we been angry? Were there any surprises? Many in the family did share their thoughts. There were tears and laughter as we remembered times with and without Rick. I will not share the things said by others – they are best left at the table
I will share with you my remembrance. The Great Shower Curtain Caper. In August of 2004, Rick, Dee, Dorothea and Mike met Jim and I in Maine. We all stayed at Nance & Phil’s home in Brooklin. We had all converged to celebrate Nance & Phil’s 25th wedding anniversary. Jim and Rick decided they would construct a shower around the existing whirlpool tub in the bathroom. What a project. The brothers, one an engineer the other a builder, both perfectionists, came up with a plan that worked. After many, many trips to the local hardware store it was completed and is still in operation today. Every time I go to Maine and use that shower I think of that time together.
Another of my memories is how Rick and I, both early risers, would sit outside drinking coffee, talking about how good life was and how grateful we were to be participating in it. We solved many of the world’s problems on those mornings.
We lost Rick way too soon but I will forever be grateful for the role he played in my life and the time we did have together.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
It has been a year since Rick died. Dee was able to round up the whole family for a dinner and time of remembrance.
Sat down to diner with 11 people; Dee, Celeste & Cynthia, Cassandra, Dillon, Dorothea, Mike, their Pastor and his wife, Jim and me. The food was good – a group effort consisting of potato salad by Priscilla and Dee; fruit salad by Cassandra; burgers and bratwurst prepared by Celeste and grilled by Dillon. Then there was pie for dessert! Apple, Strawberry/Rhubarb, and Chocolate Silk. Yum, yum.
After dinner Pastor acknowledged that the family had now experienced many firsts – the first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first birthday, etc. without Rick/Dad. He asked that we share whatever was on our hearts but did not have to share at all if we didn’t want to. He asked us to think about what emotions we had felt. Where had we been sad, where had we been angry? Were there any surprises? Many in the family did share their thoughts. There were tears and laughter as we remembered times with and without Rick. I will not share the things said by others – they are best left at the table
I will share with you my remembrance. The Great Shower Curtain Caper. In August of 2004, Rick, Dee, Dorothea and Mike met Jim and I in Maine. We all stayed at Nance & Phil’s home in Brooklin. We had all converged to celebrate Nance & Phil’s 25th wedding anniversary. Jim and Rick decided they would construct a shower around the existing whirlpool tub in the bathroom. What a project. The brothers, one an engineer the other a builder, both perfectionists, came up with a plan that worked. After many, many trips to the local hardware store it was completed and is still in operation today. Every time I go to Maine and use that shower I think of that time together.
Another of my memories is how Rick and I, both early risers, would sit outside drinking coffee, talking about how good life was and how grateful we were to be participating in it. We solved many of the world’s problems on those mornings.
We lost Rick way too soon but I will forever be grateful for the role he played in my life and the time we did have together.
Thank you Dee for bringing us together for this meaningful evening.
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