Sunday, April 9, 2017
West Lafayette, Indiana
We lost a friend last night. We met her almost two years ago on our Alaska trip. For Susan, the trip was partly a celebration of defeating cancer twice. And she fully intended to check off some of her bucket list items. So, we had a snowball fight on a glacier and she fished for haddock off the Kanai peninsula. We panned for gold in the Klondike and drove the Top of the World Highway (which is mostly paved). Neither she nor her husband drink much and Steve and I don’t drink at all, but Susan wanted to try out local beers, so we ate many of our meals in bars across northwest Canada and Alaska, Susan having one beer in each. Along the way, we found a lot of good food.
In Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, we ran across the “stars” of a reality TV show about gold miners that Susan watched. She and Dennis were excited to meet them and they were very gracious with their fans.
RVing to Alaska had been on our bucket list for a long time, as it had for most of our fellow travelers. But several, like Susan, were determined to make this trip a celebration; some celebrating health wins, some determined to have joy despite health problems and one couple celebrating over 40 years together before dementia might completely separated them.
What I learned from these friends is that even in bad times, we can search for joy. One couple’s adult daughter joined us part way into the tour. She was a teacher and couldn’t come until school was out. She had recently gone through a divorce. At the end of the trip, she said the best things she had ever done were to get divorced and go on a trip with a bunch of retirees.
Susan packed a lot of joy in her life in the past two years. She taught me a lot. Don’t wait to find the joy in your life.
I’m hoping that I will get to see the end of cancer as a death sentence in my life time.
In happier news, today we had the family Easter celebration. Yes, I know it’s Palm Sunday, but today was convenient for family. Here’s our family photo:
And just for Ella Kate and Haleigh, as requested:
Deb
