If you’ve read my blogs, you know my daughter, Elizabeth, wrote and published a children’s book called The Elephant On Aaron’s Chest. It came out last February. Ruth bought the elephant pictured below for Elizabeth in celebration of the publication.
It had taken several years to finish, but great things can’t be rushed. Great takes time.
We had a wonderful celebration in California when the book rolled out. David flew in from Michigan. Ruth and I, as well as Ruth’s sister, Kathy, flew in from Florida. Michael, Kate, and young Jackson James all attended. The book launch was a magnificent reason for us to be together. We’ve tried to get together once or twice a year since my “California kids” moved west, but Covid put a damper on us.
The book is about depression, isolation, anxiety, loss, and a dozen other similar feelings. Aaron is a young boy dealing with feelings of despair. He’s troubled, finding it difficult to do the things he once enjoyed. He attempts to rid himself of his elephant in a variety of ways but struggles.
Since Ruth’s death four weeks ago, grief has become my elephant. He climbs on most evenings and settles in for a few hours. Evening was the time we shared most, as our days were filled with our own interests.
Like Aaron, I’ll learn to accept my elephant, but now it’s tough. I take comfort in knowing her final summer was one of her best. She made new friends, engaged in new activities, and applied her finishing touches on our Tullymore condo. She said, “It’s perfect and I love it here”, just a week prior to her accident.
All three kids visited us and spent some one-on-one time with Ruth. She’d traveled to California to see Elizabeth and Sutton’s new home, and spent a couple of days with Jackson, Mike, and Kate. She reveled in every minute as it was truly a special summer.
I’ve learned a ton over the past four weeks. The biggest lesson is no matter how much you plan for “what’s next” you can never be sure, so do the things you love when you have the opportunity. You don’t know when you’ll have your last chance.
When I started this blog, my categories were Family, Career Lessons, Childhood Memories, Current Events, and Random Thoughts. With her passing, I’ve added a new one, Ruth. Elizabeth noted that I’ve seldom written just about Ruth over these past five blog years. That’ll change now.