“May the calm be widespread
May the surface of the ocean glisten like greenstone
And may the shimmer of sunlight
Ever dance across your pathway”
~ Maori blessing
Mom gave me this frame at Christmas. It had been given to her by Rick Hayes many, many Christmases ago when he was just a young man, maybe still a teenager even. He had seen it in a store, and it reminded him of mom. He spent more money on it than he had budgeted, but he did it anyway because he loved her so much. Today was his memorial service in DC. We didn’t get to go. But I wanted to honor him in some way, so I spent my day reflecting on our lives. I found this picture of us to put in the frame. I said prayers and meditated and cried and smiled, all at once sometimes. I reckon, if you’re lucky, you walk this life with souls that nourish and protect you; souls that make you reach so far down in your own soul’s feelings there’s no coming back, and you wouldn’t want to anyway. The love is that comforting. Ricky was one of those people for me. He knew a part of me that nobody else will ever know. The little sister me. I couldn’t have picked a better big brother, I know that for certain. And the frame? It will live on my shelf from now on.
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