Wordy Wednesday

It has been a trying few months, leaving me a bit numb and churned up all at the same time.  While facing a second year without our precious Amber, a first without Charlie (I still cannot wrap my head or heart around the fact that he is not here), waiting the arrival of a new grandbaby girl......in the midst of this a shocking aggressive cancer return for my mentor - our choir director.   Late August he was experiencing tremendous back pain, endured some treatments in September and in October was home on hospice.  He lost the battle Saturday afternoon.  I am trying to be joyful, for his relief from pain and suffering, for relief for his family having to watch his suffering, knowing I will see him again but the heartache of his absence is just so heavy.....and I know it will hit his wife and sons hard in the days and months to come.

I have had the incredible pleasure of being choir accompanist under his direction for a very long time, close to 20 years?  I could not sight read music when I began.  He would give me music ahead of time so I could learn it before coming to choir, but almost always on a choir night he would hand me a new piece of music to work on that night, with a sly smile.  For that agony, I am forever grateful.  He was a gentle giant, with a slow manner of speaking, a great sense of humor, perfect pitch.  He had a rich and gorgeous voice, he played brass instruments beautifully.  Rode a motorcycle, took his family across country camping every summer as he was a music teacher.  He was a Gideon, and handed out thousands of new testaments.  Anyone who worked on his house, car, while in the hospital, all were handed a small testament.  He was genuine.  Never apologizing for who he was, content to be who he was and so very calm and easy going.  Choir continues, with a new director, and we will have to learn that silent language of trust.  I cannot fathom the gaping whole for his wife and sons.  He was 67.

The last week of October, my hubby and I spent a week in North Conway, New Hampshire.  Such a bittersweet place, full of memories.  We began going here to visit my parents when our 27 year old son was a month shy of a year old.  This week we did not return to places that were precious to us with Amber and Charlie.  We created some new memories, did lots of hiking, a bit of quilting.

The rock cliffs in the middle of the picture are Cathedral Ledge and White Horse.  These are popular rock climbing spots.  There is a road to the top of Cathedral Ledge where we have gone almost every year.  Last year we spotted the fire tower across the valley so this year we have a different perspective, from the fire tower.

Another view of Cathedral Ledge and the mountain ranges beyond.