A Pause in PAW'S life journey

 One of the main reasons I started Life is a Journey, was due to the things I experienced in the last few years. Those things made such a difference in life, that I could never have planned for. But as I read in a recent devotional, The Word For You Today, there are numerous transitions in life that God brings, and one must be ready to transition. And so life has been a very major transition for me in the last few years, but especially in the last year or so, as Marie was on a significant decline.

Exploring Tulip Tree Trail

I thought that since this blog is about a journey, I should start more or less at the beginning, and go through some of the most significant changes and events, somewhat in order, and I did that for the first few blogs. However there are so many things intertwined throughout much of my career, that for some things, like Pelee Island and Tallgrass Prairie, I chose to discuss them more thematically. I plan to get back to that order of the journey, so the next post will probably continue with more of the Pelee Island story. But in looking through so many photos of our past, as well as seeing so many things around the house and garden that brings back numerous great memories of Marie, it has been a tough process at times. Even shopping together, getting out locally for various reasons, or visiting friends, life isn't the same. And some songs on the radio can trigger intense emotions, such as I Can Only Imagine, or this one, Scars in Heaven. When life with a spouse involves so much daily communication and interaction that makes the relationship so rewarding, being alone makes daily living a lot less inspiring! It results in praying so many things, and this song, called Honest has been quite insightful. I expect that most readers will have prayed like this on occasion!

So the grieving process continues. Some grief specialists have indicated that the grieving process can take as long as one year for every 5 years of marriage. Yikes, Marie and I were married for almost 48 years! I know that any readers who have lost a spouse will likely relate to these thoughts. For those of you who still have a spouse, love them and appreciate them while you can. Even though the end for one is coming eventually, you can't really prepare for it.

What follows are a few of the photos I dug out of the numerous boxes of slides and scanned them to share. This first one is on one of our trips west, to visit my sister Patricia who lived in Nelson B.C. We were hiking a trail on the opposite side of the town, from Pulpit Rock, which looked out over the town. Marie has the orange back pack.

   Coming down from Pulpit Rock.

 

On another hike at Nelson, this time in the upper Selkirk Mountains.

Marie and I enjoyed camping at various provincial parks, and usually chose some that were not that busy, or at least went at a time when they were less busy. This next photo is of Marie looking out over Mazinaw Lake, at Bon Echo Prov Park.

We had university friends living at Pembroke, so we visited them. They were right along the Ottawa River, with gabion baskets to protect the shoreline during high water. But Marie enjoyed the quiet ripples of water flowing downstream at a time of low water level.

Not sure exactly where this next one was taken, but likely on one of our camping trips...

...and on one of our other trips west, we visited the Badlands in South Dakota, where Marie was making friends with a Black-tailed Prairie Dog.

 This next one was at Rondeau, where a Ruffed Grouse came out to meet her.

 

  Exploring the giant redwoods in California...

...enjoying the spectacular arch formations, at Arches National Park.

Hiking along a trail in Zion National Park.

The arrival of kids added a new, and delightful, dimension to our lives. This next photo is of Marie and Tim sitting on the boardwalk of Tulip Tree Trail, enjoying the sunshine and the slough habitat.

On one occasion when I had been away for a few days for a work-related event, I came home to this welcome! Marie was always so thoughtful, and liked to use her creativity as well, and doing it with the kids made it more meaningful.

A few years later, Marie and the kids came with me to Ojibway Prairie Prov Nature Reserve, in Windsor, where I wanted to photograph the incredible display of the provincially endangered Dense Blazing-star. I took a ladder along, to get a slightly elevated view, as these plants are often one to one and a half metres tall. Marie and Kristin got the elevated view as well.

This is what I was photographing, with a wide angle lens to capture the extent of the blazing-stars from the base of the ladder to almost the forest.

  

 Just some of the many memories of a wonderful spouse!