A memory.....

I feel fortunate to have been able to fit in some travel this summer despite the continuing pandemic and current surges. Recently my husband and I were in North Conway, New Hampshire which has been a favorite place of ours for over 40 years. We traveled there during our honeymoon and celebrated my birthday there for many years while our kids were growing up. It was also a popular place for summer vacations and day trips for outlet shopping. We have taken all of the grandkids there at various times as well.

As I passed the Red Jacket Inn, a memory came to me of the last time we were there with our daughter in 2018. She had begun Hospice care the month before. We went to celebrate Thanksgiving as I didn’t want to cook or clean; just spend time together as a family with what time we had left. The hotel has a great water park for the kids and an arcade so there were some wonderful distractions. The view of the mountains from the couch in the Mountain View Room is spectacular though we didn’t actually go into the hotel this visit.

The memory that came to me was of my daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Eric, standing in front of the sink in their room as I entered their hotel room. We were meeting up to head to dinner. Eric had a wet washcloth in his hand and he was wetting down Jessica’s short hair. When she began her radiation treatments over the summer, her hair fell out. It had regrown in some areas though not around her surgical scars which were quite obvious on her nearly bald head. The top of her head was very sensitive to touch. He did this with such gentleness that I stopped to soak up the moment.

There were plenty of other memorable moments from that weekend too. It’s been over 2 1/2 years since our daughter died and some of the simplest everyday things bring up memories of her each day. These I consider now to be small treasures.