In the nature all around us.

Our trip to New York wasn't just so we could traipse around the City for a day, although it was a great part of it. The main reason for our visit was to gather with our sweet Grandma Great's dearest relatives to celebrate her life and honor her in her passing.

Before Matt's grandmother bid adieu to her precious family on earth, she left her daughter and son with special instructions for how she wanted her family to say their final goodbyes. A devout Roman Catholic, it was very important that her family take part in a funeral in accordance with her faith, and so her service, attended by her Kelley and Cooney families, was held in a special, old church in her hometown of Yorktown Heights, the same place where Matt's mom and dad were married 41 years ago. Growing up in Southern Baptist churches, I am not so privy to the dated beauty that encompassed this church, but everything about St. Patrick's Old Stone Church was perfectly weathered and stunning and well-loved. Well-cherished.

After the church service, we all shared a meal and some laughs and memories. And, because the Irish enjoy a drink or two, everybody's old pal, Guinness, was invited along. The food was delicious, but even more than that was the company. I have to say, I love Matt's family. They're just my speed: laughing and boisterous, always kind and warm, and quick with smiles and hugs.

The next day was reserved for a special hike. Years before, when Matt's grandfather passed away, his grandmother hiked... very far and all by herself... up to a peaceful, green, and enchanting spot overlooking the Hudson River. (Seriously, it's enchanting. You have to pass a castle to get to it.) It was there that she chose to scatter her beloved husband's ashes, and there also that she wished to be laid to her final rest. I don't know what it was, but knowing that Grandpa Kelley's dust layered the hillside so long ago, and seeing how green and lush the landscape had become, it was almost like we could feel his presence in the nature all around us. And, in that moment, we seemed to feel that when his wife's ashes joined his, they would once again be intertwined with each other. Of course, their souls had been dancing in heaven since the moment she released her last breath, but for us here on earth, it made things more tangible.

 

To say our trek was significant would not be enough to explain just how much it meant to be up there, sharing in that experience. It was something that doesn't appear in words, which is hard for me, but I can understand it in that it is something that could be felt within my heart, within the very fiber of love and life and death and eternity.