Our son Ruhu'llah turned 29, and his wife Annie threw a party for the family - her parents, Tim and Kathy; her grandmother and brother; her close friend Hannah and son Gabe; George and I; Rahmat; and Taraz and Megan....and of course our grand-daughter Daisy.
Annie made lemon merangue pie - one of my favorites, and served chicken, chips, grapes and canteloupe. Rue opened his gifts, and read his cards.
Although I have a few photos here, my camera couldn't present an image for me to see in the viewfinder because of the low light. So all my photos were 'guesswork', and most didn't turn out. You'll have to visit Annie's blog - she's got the good camera!
When families get together, they bring up old stories that cause us to count our blessings. George brought up an old memory, something that happened 20 years ago, when Rue was nine. We were living in Montana at the time. Rue was riding his bike, went to stop at a busy street, and his brakes failed. He was hit by a truck with a cattleguard on the front, and that probably saved his life. The cattleguard flipped him up over the hood and across it. He sustained a fractured hip and a head injury, and was in a coma for two weeks.
During that time, we read stories and jokes to him, just in case he could hear us. We wanted him to know that he was loved, and that we were near. When he would groan, we never knew if it was because he was in pain or because the joke was bad.
Someone was with him everyday. When he awoke from the coma and eventually came home, he refused to use his wheelchair, insisting instead on his own method of learning to walk again - by holding onto walls and feeling his way along.
It was several years recovering from the head injury. He was extremely sensitive to noise and stress, and had difficulty learning in school, getting assignments done on time. I recall I had to help him every night, to stay on task. By the end of the school year he had completed all his assignments - weeks of makeup work, painstakingly prepared.His bike was demolished in the accident, and his class held a bake sale and bought a new bike and helmet for him. He got back on his bike and started tearing around the neighborhood again, almost proud of the scars and the wounds he had.
Today, he is robust and strong, enjoys snowboarding in winter, and works out to build his strength. He is a wiz at economics and money management, taking coursework in mortgage lending in addition to his job in management at Fred Meyer. When I look at him, I'm so grateful that he doesn't step down from a challenge, that he works to stay healthy and strong. If only I could have seen this night 20 years ago, and been comforted by the images that I see today. Often, in the thick of things, when times are tough, we think life will remain clouded with hardship and suffering. But, better days always present themselves, in time.
On the way home I pointed out that in the last year there has been a birth (little Gabe), a marriage (Taraz and Megan), and the loss of two husbands - Annie's grandpa Covington, and Hannah's young husband Gabriel, who was killed in Iraq in August. So many changes, losses and gains.
This photo is of little Gabe, who will carry on his father's name. Rue held him often, enjoying his cheerful disposition.
