A Walk Through the Park

For 8 years I lived within walking distance of Blue Lake Park. It is a beautiful park and I loved that I could walk or run through it anytime I wanted to. When we moved I thought I would return at least monthly, but I hadn't until this past week. I dropped the girls off at youth group, then went to my friend's house to see if she'd walk with me. The pink trees were in full bloom and it was so fun to walk through them all.

Speaking of our old neighborhood....our former next door neighbor, Jack, passed away earlier this month. I received a phone call from another neighbor telling me that he had been taken to the hospital and was coming home with hospice. The girls and I went to visit him, but he was so weak and wasn't taking visitors. We were sad, but also grateful to have the opportunity to speak with his daughter and drop off some photos of our home, garden and our family. His daughter later told me that Jack smiled when he looked at our family photo. He passed away 2 days later.

Jack was such a great neighbor. An older gentleman who mostly lived alone. Sometimes his grandkids lived with him off and on, but mostly it was just Jack and his dog. He would come over and talk to me when I was out in the yard...often offering me the use of his garden tools and wheel barrow. He loved the girls and we tried to take him cookies a couple times a year. At Christmas we would take our violins over and play a couple carols for him, and he even came to hear the girls perform at a local coffee shop several years ago. (this was even mentioned in his obituary!)  My favorite memories are when he would hand a watermelon or other type of fruit over the back fence - saying that he thought maybe the girls would like it.

I made sure to tell Jack that we had bought a house and were moving before the for sale sign went up. And before we drove away on Sept 1, I went over to say goodbye. That was the last time I saw him. I stopped by a few times over the past couple months (since our move), but he was never home. I'm going to plant a knockout rose at the new house in his honor - I had one at the old house and he liked it so much he planted one in his front yard.