Trying to Celebrate Through the Pain

As I mentioned on page one of this blog Anne Bowman was the reason this page was started.  Well today was the celebration of her life at a little known park here in Grand Junction.  It is currently called Williams Park but I want to petition the City to change the name to the Anne Bowman Memorial Park.  It was made known today that if not for her tireless efforts this little piece of green space would not exist.  I was so moved by all the people who's lives she touched.  SO many came today, and so many stood up to speak.  However the number of people who were obviously moved to speak, but could not, was even greater.  The urge was so great and my heart wanted so much for me to be strong enough to stand up today and speak as Anne would have prodded me to.  I could not. A babbling old softy would not have been what she wanted to hear.  One can only admire the entire family for being strong enough to carry it all out.  

Anne always called me the Brother she never had.  She began bringing me back up about the second year after my world had fallen apart from the divorce I went through before we began working together. I had been going more and more down the wrong path before we met.  On top of that her skills at organization rescued not only me but the entire division of the company we worked for here in Grand Junction.  Through a bunch of earlier ignored paperwork and unpaid bills we worked together to resurrect the office and keep the company going for another year until the economy forced closure, but without her, it would never have happened.  Her smile was always a warming beacon whenever we met and she provided a place for me to go when Christmas was no longer a thing I felt like celebrating.  She made me part of her family.  This man will cry a lot of tears as the healing takes place.  Anne told me once......"You may be a big ol bad ass biker but to me you are just a big teddy bear."  

She had a way of seeing through me like no one else ever has.  

I will miss you sis.

Listen:  If you have someone in your life who lifts you up don't take them for granted.  If you know someone who could use some encouragement, whether they are family of not?  GIVE IT.  DO not waste time wondering what others might think  As Anne would say, "let your freak flag fly", go see them, call them, email them, keep in touch much more closely than you have before.  Life is not fair or predictable and they may be gone before you have a chance to reveal how much they have helped you or how you really feel.