The home that I have lived in since 1994 is a very modest home in a very beautiful place. My husband and I were lucky enough to be able to purchase this home on a lake. We raised our children on three acres out in the country. The lake really changed everything. It brought so much joy into our lives. Water sports and swimming to name two, but just the beauty of the water as a backdrop to our lives was such a blessing.
Several years ago, my husband built a walkway around our property that bordered the water. He also built a dock. In the last year of his life he added a long homemade bench at the south end of the walkway, a place to sit and watch grandchildren swim.
One spring day last year, the sun was warm and lovely and Billy and I were aching to sit outside and draw in its warmth. The wind, however, was wicked strong, and we were uncomfortable sitting in lawn chairs. Before we retreated back inside I suggested we walk down to the water and sit on our bench for a few minutes. Billy agreed, and we walked across the backyard and down the staircase that Billy had built into the side of the small hill that led down to the walkway. And then a very strange thing happened, something I will never forget. As soon as we stepped onto the walkway, the wind disappeared. We could see that it was blowing still, but for some reason at the bottom of our little hill, sitting on our bench in the sun, there was no wind at all.
I remember that we sat on the bench, and felt the sun, warm on our skin. We heard the familiar sounds of our land, old leaves rustling, birds singing, the water gently lapping against the side of the walkway. It was so quiet it was almost reverent. I held his hand, and he held mine. We watched the sun dance on the water, a line of a million brilliant diamonds scattered across the surface. So bright you could barely look. And in this magic moment, this favorite moment, my heart will rest, sitting next to him, his warm hand in my own. And it is a treasure I will never have to spend. I will return to it again and again.
A Little Bit of Everything, With Love 