Two Months

Today marks two months since my father died. I miss him more than I can begin to express. Tonight I sat out on my mother’s gazebo and faced South from 5:35 until 6:00p.m. He collapsed at 5:46 p.m. on June 20th. So tonight, as I did on July 20, I sat out and faced the general direction of Aspen where he was riding his bike that afternoon. I toasted him with a glass of wine and then had a chat with him about all that I have been doing and about how very much we all miss him. And then I cried for a very long time.
The picture above is my most cherished possession. I took it sometime during high school on a hike I had taken with my dad. It was in November. It had been snowing that day. We are on our way home and you can see part of my parents’ property in the foreground. I snapped it of him and our dog, Violet, on a spur of the moment. I love this picture because it is simply a moment and nothing else. It has traveled with me through every move from the time I went away to college. It was on every dorm room cork board and tucked in all of my favorite books. I found it while I was packing up our townehome and cried when I discovered it had not been lost. This afternoon I scanned it into Photoshop and started to repair it. Just knowing I have it makes things a smidgen better.