2017 Life Logs, Day 254: A Message from Mark
Date: Monday, September 11, 2017
Weather: Beautiful Sunny Day; High 75, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
It was one year ago tonight that we lost Mark, so in his honor I spent my day thinking happy thoughts about the wonderful life we had together. Thanks to all of you who sent supportive messages this morning, especially to my son who sent hugs from Puerto Rico. Bruce and Jane invited me to go out sailing with them on Pooh, but I decided that I needed the time alone. So instead, I walked to the beach and spent the afternoon relaxing on the seawall and then sitting on the bench where Mark last sat with me, my sister, and my brother-in-law last September. When I got home, I got a call from Heather and we hatched the idea of going to dinner at The Flying Bridge, a restaurant here on the harbor where we could eat outside on the deck next to the boat docks.
Ollie showed up for dinner in what he called his magic bow tie. It is white with red lobsters all over it and he told me it is magic because it goes with anything—even his blue plaid shirt!
Jonah, who looks like Mark, wore his Granddad outfit—his white Columbia shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his tan Columbia zip-off pants. This was Granddad’s favorite outfit and Jonah has adopted the style.
Sam had on his dress-shoes of choice—boat shoes, of course. And he is just looking way too grown up.
We had a wonderful dinner and then afterwards we had a walk on the dock. Just outside the restaurant, there are lamp posts, and by the time I got down on the dock, Jonah and Ollie were in a full performance of “Singing in the Rain” changing the word ‘rain’ to ‘sun’. Just like Gene Kelly, they were swinging from the lamp posts and pretending the lights were the sun. Gotta love the ingenuity of kids. They certainly brightened my day.
In the morning, before I headed to the beach, I spent time sorting through some files I had taken out of the closet yesterday. There was an assortment of folders of memorabilia, important papers, and photos, and among the memorabilia, there was a birthday card to me from Mark. I do not normally save cards, but this one must have seemed special to me. And it conveyed a message from Mark to all of us. The picture is a Pacific-centered map of the world and the inscription reads, “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
