and so the story goes

A human life is a story told by God.

~Hans Christian Andersen

It's been one year since my father passed away

it's a little easier these days
memories can be appreciated with a smile and not so many tears

****

This past month Rich our 80 something neighbor lost his wife to cancer.
Terrified when I saw the ambulance, police and fire was at his house early one winter morn.

I cried in relief when I found that Rich was alive,
I cried for his loss
and
I cried for my father

Rich is an ex NY cop gone country
Gabriel lost his grandfather, he adopted Rich.
Rich and Gabriel get along like 2 peas in a pod
the elder teaches the younger
he teaches him how plant onions and how to safely clean his rifle
Gabriel soaks it all in...there is a sweetness in their friendship
the 70 year difference is just a number

We brought Rich a basket filled with warm soup,bread and a newspaper
hoping it might nourish his mind and spirit
I hug him
he hugs me back
he loves to talk...a story teller that he is...
my mind drifts as he tells his tails usually from the good ol days

yesterday he knocked on our door
 his eyes not as red from grieving
 thanks us
 hands us the empty soup pot
and the basket filled to the brim with potatoes.
Potatoes that Gabriel helped him plant last spring
I smile thinking to myself...small world, God must know a thing or two

Potatoes
dad loved them boiled with a sprinkle of parsley

As a young boy
Bestemor put warm potatoes in his pocket when he walked to school to keep his hands warm in the frigid Norwegian Winters

Dad would have to eat them sometimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the 2nd world war
as most Norwegians

Potatoes + Norway  = Love

remarkable what a basket full of potatoes
can do
it can fill your belly
pinch your heart
and warm your soul

****

and even though you couldn't tell a fairy tale to save your life dad
your story will always live on in my heart


...I miss you pappa