Three Months On

The overall purpose of this blog is to expose the roots within me (my life experiences, my challenges, my gifts, and any other factors which come to bear) for my woodworking. You, the readers of this work, have been patient and kind to accept these thoughts. In fact, writing them down week in and week out is a great gift to me.

The third of this month marked the beginning of the fourth month that I have been without Sharon to share in my journey. I say ‘without’, but that is not quite accurate. I’m not talking about words from beyond the grave or some such. Sharon and I shared most everything. It was as though we got to be the same kind of pain in the neck for people who experienced us. We didn’t go out much ever (even when health was not an issue). What we did do was to take hold of whatever seemed right for us to do. For me, this was woodworking, and for her, it was serving her church and then her family. Although we didn’t control each other’s work and efforts, we were always there to analyze challenges and possible goals together and for each other.

C.S. Lewis, a popular Christian writer in Britain during the 20th century (he died in 1963) wrote a short book when his wife died: “A Grief Observed”. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it, but I remember that the punch line was his finally coming to a sense of peace that his wife was with God and in peace. That’s never been an issue for me. Sharon was the most peaceful person I ever knew. Like all practical people, she stayed within herself right up to and including her death. Because we worked together on all the practical issues of our lives, she’s never really left me. I was even holding her when she died, and she was holding onto me. I miss her, don’t get me wrong. Still, because of the life we set up together, she’s still with me. Except for the day after she died, I was able to put my hands on the wood in my shop. I’ve had to slow down because I’m doing everything we did together by myself. This is not a burden to me, though, because we decided these things were right years ago.