Nancy's final gift to her family was a bench that she helped design. She loved the idea of having somewhere where D, M, R and H could go and sit for a while and feel her presence. As an artist with connections to many creative people and energy, I took on the challenge of finding the right artist to create this very important piece of art. I found two women in Kalamazoo that run a steel studio called Things of Steel (http://www.thingsofsteel.com/home.htm).
I brought an image of a horse from a show that D and Nancy had seen of Cavalier horses. We started to talk about how to begin this creation and after crying for a while, the women set out to create some designs for Nancy to approve. Michelle and Katherine were so honored to be given this opportunity. Nancy was so excited that two women were creating this very meaningful piece.
The last time that I saw Nancy, she was having a very difficult time communicating. I worried about whether she could make the decision over which design she liked the best. By God, Nancy rose to the challenge and was very determined and excited about the drawing she chose. She even pointed to the place where it was going to go.
Katherine and Michelle started working on the bench and were in the process of the final stages when I called and told them that Nancy only had a few more days. They left another job in Chicago to return and complete the piece. It arrived on Friday April 4th.
We dedicated the bench after her celebration. Nancy had asked me to read something that she found and put in her journal:
Lighten Your Load
A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"
The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.
"It doesn't matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance. It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasing heavier."
"What you have to do is put the glass down, rest for a while."
Nancy's gift to her family is to be able to put their burdens down and rest in her presence for a while.
Nancy's gift to us is this message above.
Stop and rest for a while.
