Grief Remembers

While driving from Salt Lake City where I visited Abby, my brother’s daughter, I drove passed the Yampa Valley Regional Airport on my way into Steamboat Springs to visit my sister-in-law, Laurel, and nephew, Andrei. Grief hit me like a semi truck barreling down the mountain road. Grief remembers:

I remember the phone call from Laurel informing me of the air ambulance crash that took Dave’s life along with 2 others in the line of duty.

I remember I calling my siblings with the horrifying news.

I remember Eric and I knocking at my parent’s door in the early morning hours to break the news which broke their hearts.

I remember arriving at the Yampa Valley Airport 10 hours after I had received the call that changed the lives of so many

I remember hugging Laurel and holding 11 month old Abby

I remember wired little details like eating corn chowder that David had made earlier in the week and folding his laundry I found in the dryer and thinking how wrong it was that life was happening without him

I remember what a rock Michael was as he made arrangements for the rest of the family to fly out and how comforting it was to have my family present with me in Steamboat

I remember the out pouring of support and many acts of kindness there was from the Steamboat Springs community

I remember the streets to the church lined with fire trucks from all over the area and firefighters lining the isles of the church with tears streaming down their faces

I remember the flood of emotions that tossed me about like a log in a mountain stream during the spring melt

Grief remembers. I remember details large and small but the most important memory is not the moments, the experiences, the details. It is of Dave. I remember Dave

I remember his passion for life, his devotion to Laurel, his pride in the apple of his eye, baby Abby

I remember his sense of adventure, his wicked sense of humor that made everyone laugh, his infectious smile, his sparkling eyes, his endless teasing of those he loved, his selfless giving, his dedication to helping others as a nurse, a firefighter and a food human being

I remember that he made my life richer and the world better. I remember him always and that is the gift of grief-those we love are never forgotten