Life is short but sweet for certain

Last week our family was on vacation at the Outer Banks.   On Wednesday, June 20th 2012, Brannon's father was swimming in the ocean and something went wrong.  He yelled for help.  An amazing young man came to his aid but Greg was gone before they were able to get him to the beach.

Greg was 49.

The past several days have been a blur.  I am mourning the loss of my father-in-law, standing beside my husband while I watch him ache with grief and rocking my sweet son while he cries with questions of why this happened and when his heart will stop hurting.

 I wish I had answers to all of Ben's questions and I wish I could take away the pain I can see rising up and fading back in my husband's eyes.  For now we are taking life a day at a time.

Our family has experienced an amazing set of circumstances since Greg's passing that have provided peace and comfort in this time of pain and turmoil.  

Greg loved sunflowers.  He had grown a garden of them and when he arrived at the Outer Banks last week - he gave Ben a beautiful sunflower plant he had grown himself and potted for Ben to take home.  The funeral was filled with those bright happy flowers that can't help but make you smile - kind of like Greg.

On the evening of the burial a bunch of us piled into the back of Uncle Mark's pick up truck and went out for a ride.  We rode up into the hills, through the cow fields, got out and explored the woods and on the way back down to the house we came up over the hill and this is what we were greeted with........

A single sunflower.

If that is not God winking at us - I don't know what is.

We are taking life a day at a time.  Putting one foot in front of the other and remembering to just breathe.

Easter 2012

We are trying to find a new normal, one that respects and acknowledges the pain and emptiness that a tragedy like this creates but also taking advantage of the opportunity to grow and learn from the pain. 

I have faith we will get there.