This year Jeff’s birthday is on a Sunday. As I sat in Church this morning I thought about him and remembered how much he liked Sunday School. He loved the activities and parties and always took everything that the teacher said to heart. One summer morning when he was very young I got a phone call asking me if I knew anything about all the bible verses in the neighbors’ mailboxes. I knew nothing about it but hadn’t gotten my mail yet and said I would check on it. When I saw the Bible verse in our mailbox I immediately recognized the handwriting. When I asked Jeff about it he said his Sunday School teacher told him to tell everybody about Jesus so he had taken it upon himself to do just that!
Mystery solved
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free, I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call, I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day, To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way, I've found that peace at the end of the day.
If my parting has left a void, Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss, Ah, yes, these things too I will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow, I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief, Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me, God wanted me now, He set me free.
by Janice M. Fair-Salters Sonnet 29
A poem for Jeff on All Saints' Sunday:
"I'm the colorful leaves when fall comes around
And the pure white snow that blankets the ground
I'm the beautiful flowers of which you're so fond.....
the clear cool water in a quiet pond.
I'm the first bright blossom you'll see in the Spring;
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I'm the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine.
And you'll see that the face in the moon is mine.
When you start thinking there's no one to love you
You can talk to me through leaves on the trees,
And you'll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.
I'm the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
And the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep
I'm the smile you see on a baby's face,
Just look for me now, I'm everyplace!"
Author Unknown
Remembering my son on All Saint’s Day with a poem I wrote for him years ago:
WILDFLOWER BOUQUETS
In my mind’s eye I see wildflower bouquets
Whenever I think of you --
Clutched in a grubby fist, behind your back
Buttercups, daisies (some ragweed too)
A big bunch of Queen Anne's Lace --
A happy smile upon your face.
I miss those days of wildflower bouquets
I thought they would never end
Along with muddy shoes, homemade cookies and worn blue jeans to mend.
But then one day you had to go,
And why that was, I’ll never know--
No more wildflower bouquets for me,
But Jeff, I’m glad your soul is free.
...........Carol Olson
The Missing Boots
Jeff, good child that he was, always took his shoes off when he came in--he would leave them by the back door and just wear socks around the house. One summer we took a little vacation and visited the Pittsburgh Zoo, the Carnegie Museum and other neat spots in the Pittsburgh area. The four of us must have been quite a sight bouncing down in the highway in our 1968 Scout. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which was a really big thing for a little family that had not taken many vacations. When it was time to leave we couldn’t find Jeff’s boots. We looked everywhere in the motel suite and were about to give up when he said “I left them by the front door, like I always do.” We walked down the long hallway to the entrance of the motel, and sure enough--there were the little boots!
His boots are now sitting at the entrance to Heaven.
Most people think a solo is a song sung by a single person. One day Jeff said very loudly to everyone in the room "Sher left a solo". I have no idea where he got that, but with the way he could not stop laughing - and I had farted and it smelled - I understood what he thought a solo was. I do recall we used solo as "code" from that time on.
