Sunflowers in the Rain

And then the skies opened up, and it rained and it rained and it rained.

Thank you for the many kind words, the stars, the hearts, and every good wish sent my family's way, upon the passing of our parents, Lee and Norma Colyer.

My father was born in June, and my mom was born in October. My father always joked that during the months when he was "older," HE was in charge. When it hit October, and she had a birthday, and they were the same age again, SHE was in charge. I laughed to think about that again this morning.

It was also obvious to me, and to several others, that my father (always the gentleman, though he'd laugh if you called him that) went on ahead first to Heaven so he could check the joint out and make sure it was safe for his lovely bride, before he hailed her to come along. Well done, Dad! Well done, Mom!

I am happy to think that he (with his back healed now, and able to lift again) may even have carried my mom across the threshold of that little cabin by the woods in Heaven that they dwell in now. Perhaps even as I write this, they are sitting hand-in-hand on a love seat together, grinning at each other, as they did so often in this life.

If things had not happened exactly as they did, I would not think that my reigning feeling right now would be joy and relief, but sorrow. And I am sure there will be plenty of time for sorrow and loss. Please humor me if I tell stories about them for a while. Taking pictures and telling stores is part of how I heal.

As I have often said on these pages, the only story I really have to tell . . . is a love story. And you can see the lives that have nurtured and inspired the love in me that spills out here, there, and everywhere. It's all I know, really.

I am also well blessed to have dear friends who have been sending notes of love and encouragement on email and all over Facebook and on Blipfoto. I have written back (or WILL write back) to every single one. 

We are so grateful for your love and support; for the joy you took in the photos and the stories of their unbreakable love; for your sorrow upon their passing. It helps to know we're not crying alone.

My one friend Jen, no stranger to loss, sends me private notes almost every day. I have been telling her all about what went down, and she sent me the sweetest note: cheering my parents on, and observing that my little sister and I were strong and good, she said: "like sunflowers in a storm."

So here is a picture I took on this day of sunflowers in the rain. These are not your standard, huge, tall annual sunflowers, but perennial ones that will hold their own, and weather the winds, and come back year after year. 

Be like the sunflowers, I say. 
Show your sunny face.
Wear the colors of joy amid any weather.
Stand strong amid the coming storms!

My soundtrack song is the Whites, from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, with Keep on the Sunny Side. A few of its lyrics appear below.

There's a dark and a troubled side of life
There's a bright and a sunny side too
Though we meet with the darkness and strife
The sunny side we also may view
Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way
If we keep on the sunny side of life