Good Times and Bad

You know how in most marriage vows there is a phase that goes something like “...in good times and bad...until death do us part”. Well, it doesn't stop with the death of your spouse. Gail blessed me with four wonderful children and the good times have continued, most notably with the birth of our grandson, Raif this past year. Unfortunately, since the passing of my wife, Gail, the bad times have continued too. Her Mother, a woman I've loved, passed away this summer and her brother and my best friend, Jim, passed away last week.

Alan Alda, in one of his books said “the meaning of life is life”. OK, so then what is the meaning of death? I suppose that is one of those mysteries that we will never know until we walk through that gate ourselves. Two recent events though have made this particular bad time a little easier for me.

One was my sister-in-law, Donna, Jims wife's, dream or vision just after Jim passed. It's her dream so I won't share it here, but it has lead me to believe that there is something right or good about death.

The other was once again hiking the Boy Scout Trail in the redwoods of Northern California. It brought a level of peace to me after Gail's death. I again hiked the trail coming up the coast on the way to Jim and Donna's. This time it helped me prepare for these last couple of weeks. I'm not even going to try to describe what it is about being so close to nature that has such a profound influence on me, but it does and I'm thankful for it.

The following two pictures have nothing to do with the above discussion, or maybe they do and I haven't figured it out yet. They are pictures of sea foam near Yachats Oregon as waves came smashing into the rocks along the shore.

And this is another picture I took while there.