Go rest high on that mountain

I know your life
On earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
‘Cause, Son, your work on earth is done
Go to Heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and the Son

This past week or so has been rough. Just plain rough . On me,on Martin, and his family , and on friends of mine. 

As you  know last week I had to put to rest my beloved Jazz. Difficult but the right thing to do . 

Thought ,that while I was sad, the worst was over.

 But my father in law has been quite ill for some time and that too has been a constant worry . I saw him earlier in the week, and he was looking frail and tired, but still chipper and recognized me and Martin, as well as bot of his daughters. Martin returned to work on Monday despite worries that his dad was failing , but with the promise from his work site that if need be they would get him home. Thursday Larry seemed to rally some, but as often happens that was the beginning of the end. Connie received a call Friday morning that he was unresponsive and he passed in the early afternoon. True to their word , his employer had him home in record time. The most difficult phone conversation I have ever had was to tell my sweet husband that his father had passed away. 

Rest well Larry, a sweet kind and honorable man , you will be missed .

The family asked me to write a poem for his memorial service, Larry was an Ironworker, building bridges across Alberta back in the day there were few if any safety regulation and when a 16 yr old boy could be trained and doing the work of a grown man! 

This is the poem I wrote for him, I hope it honors him and does justice to who he was 

A Bridge to Heaven

If there could be a bridge somehow,

From here to Heaven’s gate

You know that we would rush right out  

And cross it just to wait,

For a chance to glimpse your smile,

Or sit and talk to you awhile  

To say the thank you that we need to say

For your wisdom and love

And your quiet way

 Your gentle heart and sparkling eyes

Will be ever missed as we say our goodbyes

A bridge from here to heaven,

 Would be a daunting task

But if it could be built somehow

You would be the man to ask.

While on the way to the airport , my sister called, worried that I would hear this next news without warning , as a young girl I had a wonderful friend ,Lisa, her sisters and mom simply welcomed me in and became part of my family. "Mom Brown" was a wonderful lady and treated me as one of her own , even once letting me as a 16 yr old drive her treasured camaro! Ever the lady she handled great adversity in her life and the lives of her girls with grace and patient understanding . I had lost contact with this family to some degree, and had reconnected only recently with an older sister. We planned to get together but somehow the busy days marched on and it did not happen, she mentioned "mom " was suffering from dementia and while that spurred me to try harder to see her we just seemed unable to connect . The sad news is, that last Thursday night "Mom" became confused and left her home in a storm, and became lost. She died of exposure in the night . The thing Heather was warning me about was the newscast where the interviewed my childhood friend during the search for her mother . Seeing her in such pain, and knowing of the loss, broke my heart .

Too late now to see her again I will remember her always, and I pray for peace for her and her girls. 

And you my friends if you are of a mind to ,please pray for all who are struggling and facing loss. 

Godspeed "Mom" Brown .

I do hope to gather with the girls and celebrate the great lady sometime soon, but I am also mindful of the fact that we have grown apart and I will let them take the lead on this .

Stay safe my friends, and if there is someone out there who you need to reconnect with , don't wait