My daughter Rebecca and her two boys Nick and Jack drove down from Virginia to my son's home in NC to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with us, arriving late in the evening. On Saturday morning the turkey was stuffed and placed in the oven which soon filled the home with the scent of turkey. Yumm!! Vegetables were peeled and set in pots of water on top of the stove waiting for the proper time for the burners to be turned on.
Thanksgiving #2 without my husband had begun! We gathered 'round the table and while the plates were being filled to the rim we gave shout outs of thanks each one of us thanking for good health, family, and a home filled with love. Laughter and love filled the room as we ate to our hearts content, stuffing, potatoes, squash, fruit salad, and of course cranberries to help cleanse the pallet from turkey and way too much gravy.
All too soon dinner was over and a new celebration began, remembering Grampa Bill and his 68th birthday, his second in heaven. Helium balloons had been purchased earlier in the day and words of endearment written on them for Grampa to read when they reached the heavens. I shared my "energy bag" which my children made for me prior to their leaving Harmony in July of 2013. A poem was found that was given to me by Margie "Softspoken" Decker, a native American therapist who helped Bill become at peace with life. Andre, my grandson, shared the poem with us all, it bought tears with not only the words he spoke, but they way he spoke them, with so much love.
Johnny my youngest grandson had scooted upstairs where he spends a lot of time playing games, but once the poem was done he spoke to me over the railing and said, "Grammy can I show them something from your room about Grampa Bill?" "Of course you can Johnny." Now I was thinking a photo I had brought with me, however, as I heard him coming down the stairs I saw he had urn in which Bill's ashes were placed. I watched as he held the urn close to his body, being so very careful with each step so as not fall and break the vessel. He placed it on the table gently scooting it away from the edge and said, "Grampy Bill will be with Grammy forever." And then gave his me a warm and gentle hug! My heart melted and the tears trickled down my cheek.
It was now time for the release of the balloons, so the seven of us went out doors and sang happy birthday to Grampa Bill and released the balloons watching them as they gently floated away to who knows where. I'd like to think they went to heaven where Bill smiled as he often did when the boys did something that touched his heart.
The Thanksgiving celebration of 2014 was two fold, both of them filled with love!
No comments:
Post a Comment