The Harrowing/Heartwarming Parent Moment of the Week
It’s been twenty-two years since my dad died. Funny how these events never really leave you. This year, instead of remembering the day with sorrow, my sister-in-law decided that my brother and I should eat pie.
Our dad loved pie, pie for holidays, pie instead of cake on birthdays, and pie for breakfast. So she invited friends to bring a pie and come sledding.
But for such a momentous occasion our normal sledding hill simply would not do. Instead of sledding in the driveway or hitting the tube hill, we stopped traffic and sledded the dreaded Freeze’s Hill. The site of many a stuck vehicle over the years as it is the steepest place on our road. A good friend parked his truck at the bottom and alerted my brother via radio of any incoming traffic. Then we hit the hill with new Christmas runner sleds.
It was incredibly fast. There were several fabulous wrecks but no broken bones, even when the three dads had a “Big Guy Race” wherein they purloined their children’s sleds and hurtled down the hill at incredible speeds and with very sketchy steering capabilities. Then we all packed into my brother and sister-in-law’s house. The house my dad built for our family years ago. We ate pie and Korean salsa with chips and enjoyed the good times that are all mixed in with the bad.
Of course I forgot my camera. But these pictures are from that same spot a few days later. Fun and beautiful!
I remember this as if it were yesterday. We were at church at an evening service. The phone rang after service and Ken answered it from the nursery phone. We were all stunned. Immediately we and the Davenports raced to the Leavenworth Hospital and prayed with Judy. We heard the details about what happened. There was a rental camp who had just left, Greg was feeding the horses and then went to turn off the generator. Because it was snowing, the falling snow acted as a barrier over the doorway, and Greg was asphyxiated. He had died, but was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Judy was beside herself, as we all were. We couldn’t sleep that night because we had just lost a friend. Mixed with this difficult reality was the ache that we felt for Judy and you kids–but the calm assurance that Greg was in heaven! The next week was a youth group retreat in Bellingham. You had signed up for this, and were determined to go. I felt like you were so brave. I remember you saying that you needed a break from all the sadness and crying. Because of this, I decided to be there for you if you needed me–but to offer this time as a distraction of sorts, and not dwell on it. We were all grieving and in shock. I’ve often thought about this, and hoped it was the right approach. We did what we could to minister to your family, and we hope we were able to offer you hope and encouragement. You are all dear to us. We would like to carry on this tradition and eat pie in celebration of a life lived well! What a great idea and fitting tribute. Bless you and your wonderful family. -Julie
We would love for you to join us Julie. It’s a date. Eat pie, on January 3rd, preferably for breakfast, or maybe for several meals…in memory of Dad.