To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary we
flew them to Canada, First Class. We met them at the Calgary airport as they
arrived, helping them navigate Customs and collect their luggage. Then we
escorted them on a week-long tour of the Canadian Rockies, all expenses paid.
They were 73 and 71 years young at the time, still vital enough to enjoy
the journey. Dad had been injured a few years earlier in a hit-and-run; his
replacement joints and sockets couldn’t manage long bursts of hiking. Mom’s
arthritis hindered her a bit too. We did a lot of our traveling by car, with short
strolls to scenic vistas. With a bit of encouragement from us they rode a tramway to the top of a Banff peak, thrilling to the sights below.
It was the trip of a lifetime for both of them; they talked
about it for more than a decade until Mom’s sudden passing. Mom died two months
ago today; it still seems surreal. We spent those last difficult days and weeks
in hospital rooms and rehab centers, running errands for the two of them and
doing anything possible to make things more manageable and serene.
Looking back --- we recognize the value of doing things for
those you love --- while you can. We saved for most of a year to pull off the
anniversary trip. Used some hotel points and some airline miles, then blazed
through a stack of carefully hoarded cash. But regardless of our total expenses,
the value of the trip was “priceless.” We knew it then; we are even more
certain of it today.
Mom’s in heaven now. We assume her eternal surroundings look
pretty much like the Canadian Rockies. We’ve seen much of the world so far ---
42 nations and counting --- and we’ve witnessed a lot of beauty. Switzerland, Austria and many other places are
awe-inspiring. But for sheer scenic beauty it’s hard to top the vistas along
the Bow Valley Parkway through Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
Here’s a pic of Mom and Dad, one of our favorite photos of
them. They’re standing on a bridge in Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada.
They’re happy, relaxed --- going places they’ve never gone, seeing things they’ve
never seen. We sacrificed a lot to make it possible for them; we would do it
again in a heartbeat.
Who do you love, and how might you choose to express what
you feel? The journey of life is fragile and quickly over; this present life is
comes down to intentionality and setting priorities. Do what you can, while you
can. Tomorrow is uncertain; the only
thing you own for certain is today.
