Smiles

The weekend is a bit of a blur...it snowed all weekend long so it was a long, lazy weekend filled with baking bread, snuggling on the couch and dreading the entrance back into the real world. It was perhaps the most relaxing three days we have had in a long time. Unfortunately, it also included some bad news. A man, that was a neighbor, for most of my childhood passed away on Friday. he was the father of my sister's best friend. He was a presence. That's really the only way to describe him. Involved in town politics, he was able to shape the way people thought. What I remember most about him was his smile. Unlike many people, his smile was alway genuine. He could flash the smile at you during the worst disagreements and somehow things were made better. I didn't know him as well as other members of my family, but I do always remember his smile. He fought a horrible disease for a long time and outlived the predictions that his doctors had by months. His funeral is today. My parents and my sister are there and I know that this has to be a tough time for his family and all the people that he came in contact with throughout his life. Today, I will choose to remember this man, remember his smile and know that he is smiling down on us, free of pain, free of tumors and watching over his family and friends.