Today, Friday 8/25/17, it has been six months since my mom passed away.   I first saw this quote, “To forget is vain endeavor, loves remembrance lasts forever” a few years ago on a bike ride. I had stopped at a small cemetery along the road to lie down in the cool grass, and when I had finished a short rest, I decided to wander through the rows of headstones. I saw this epitaph and it just spoke to me. After my mom died, I rode back to the cemetery to get some more photos of the headstone. I will never attempt to forget memories of my mom even though at times it can be painful to remember. I want to continue to remember each and every moment with her that I can with a healed and happy heart. That is what she would want!

The date the photo below was taken is 7/2/82. We were celebrating my mom’s 58^th birthday at the condo we were renting and in the process of buying our first home in Issaquah Washington. It had been almost exactly one year since our move to the Seattle area. Although Edie had this big beautiful grin that day, my intuition told me she was somewhat sad because she knew we would never be moving back to the Midwest.

August 21, 2017 was a beautiful warm sunny day in Leavenworth WA and that morning I decided to head up Ski Hill Road to observe the rare solar eclipse near the mountain trails I love to hike and bike. The location was not in an area of totality and I decided not to focus on the sun being eclipsed, but instead on the visual, auditory and tactile sensations during the eclipse. My senses were heightened as the birds quieted and the hair on my arms stood up as the temperature dropped dramatically.  During the eclipse, I captured these clear and concise shadows of the pear trees produced from the concentrated rays of the sun as I was looking at the orchard across the road from where I was seated.

I am so thankful my mom modeled for me the importance of spending time in nature and finding awe in our natural world. Most of my “awe-inspiring” moments occur as a result of experiences being in nature. As I gazed out at the beauty all around me on that very rare solar eclipse day, I felt her sitting next to me taking it all in and quietly whispering in wonder “wow”.