And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.
-Maya Angelou

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Jack-Winks

To say the last nine months have been tough is an understatement. Some days I wonder if I'm going to survive this. But consistently, on those days when life feels the most unbearable, at just the right moment, I'll receive a text from a friend letting me know they are thinking of me. Other times, a picture of a willow tree shows up on Facebook or my phone with the note "made me think of you and Jack". The notes, pictures and reminders of Jack - what I like to call "Jack-Winks", are without question what have carried me through this last year. Thank you for sharing your Jack-Winks and please keep them coming. I'm really going to need a lot of Jack-Winks to carry me through the upcoming months that include Jack's birthday, the holidays and the first anniversary of Jack's death. 

Here are some of the Jack-Winks that have been shared with me over this last year:

South Dakota willow tree from my friend Katie.
(beautiful picture!)



Austin, Texas willow tree from my friend Barb.



Atlanta, Georgia - shared by my friend Erica.



Sedona cairn - from Erica


My friend Jean traveled to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago. 
She placed Jack's stone along the Camino.



Jean shared this willow tree - Astorga, Spain.



Willow tree and my friend Ben at Eckerts Apple Orchard in Illinois (I think).



On a day when I was having a rough morning at work and had just walked out of the office because I couldn't get the tears under control, a text message came across my phone with this picture and the message "thinking of you and Jack" from my friend Ali in St. Louis. When I told her that her timing was perfect, she responded with "I believe I was prompted by an angel."  A definite Jack-Wink!



From the campus of Washington University Medical School/St. Louis Children's Hospital - my friend Jenny sent me this picture and asked, "Is this Jack's tree?" Yes, this is unofficially Jack's Tree at Wash U/SLCH!



Connecticut willow tree - thanks Christina!



Bethesda, Maryland "Jack banner" from my friend Diane. 




Inching Onward with the help of all the shared Jack-Winks. xo

2 comments:

  1. I remember when you thought you weren't getting any signs that Jack was okay. I think he's making up for it!

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    1. You're so right Jenny. I suppose I need to be more open to receive and acknowledge signs from Jack. I struggle with the whole signs thing, but when I stand back and pay attention - like I did in this post - there they are!

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