meadow of delight

over the weekend, we lost a very special member of our family.  kia was my cousin annie's wife, and she fought a courageous battle with cancer this past year.  a gifted writer, kia began a blog chronicling her fight with cancer when she became sick last spring (see here).  even though, in recent days, as it became clear that she might not win this fight, the news still came as a shock, something that is just so hard to accept.  she was only 28 years young and so full of life.

late this past summer, kia and annie were married in a beautiful, touching ceremony in my hometown.  as they stood above family and friends in the hayloft of the barn, ada, my one year old, played joyfully on the grass below. as annie and kia exchanged vows and held hands, the little ones ran around and loudly giggled, completely oblivious as to what was taking place.


to see annie and kia on their wedding day, and to witness their love was truly magical. it is something that i will never forget.  the wedding was ada's first wedding, and although she didn't really understand what was going on, it was important for me to show her what true love looked like - that it comes in all forms.  it's my hope that when she's all grown-up, "gay marriage" will just be marriage, and "no cure for cancer" will be a thing of the past.


early on sunday morning, my husband came across the poem "beannacht" (blessing) by the late Irish poet John O'Donohue.  (i posted a quote of his here and first learned about his work through a yoga class with michelle).  he wrote this poem for his mother upon the loss of his father, and my husband thought it was a fitting one to share with annie.  i think it's just beautiful so i wanted to share it here as well.


i hope you'll take a moment to have a listen and that perhaps it might help you or a loved one through a similar loss.