Thanksgiving Memory

This photo was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2008. We drove up to Virginia to spend the holiday with Joel's dad & step-mom, Jan. Jan's son, Dan, and his wife, Adriane, opened their home to us as well as their family that day. It was beautiful weather and the home they were renting was set back away from the city among some beautiful scenery. I even got to take a walk alone on the property that day. The meal was delicious & Dan, a gifted wine maker, shared several of his favorite bottles with us all. The kids had a blast playing and looking at Dan's pet lizards. We stayed past dark & Joel even got to photograph the beauiful night sky. It was truly a perfect day and one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever. I am thankful for it today especially as this Thanksgiving approaches. As I was browsing Facebook this morning Jan's post told me it was Dan's birthday. It got me to thinking about him & this particular holiday we had in Virginia. Dan is no longer with us. He was hit by a drunk driver just over a year ago. It makes this memory all that more priceless. I did not know Dan terribly well, but each occasion I got to be around him he was kind, warm, funny and generous. It is very hard to watch the suffering of his family that loved him so very much. My heart breaks for them and this great loss. There is comfort in something Jan frequently says: that she has hope in the day of their reunion will all things sad will be untrue.