This may sound crazy,but I think my grandpa
just left me a message.
My sweet Baba,
known in life as George Munson,
lost his life to cancer
19 years ago.
Tonight I pointed my camera
up at the trees in my backyard,
expecting just to capture
happy green leaves
blowing in the wind.
But the camera caught more
beautiful light shining
through the canopy of green.
I went to my computer
and Googled the words “light in trees,”
thinking maybe there would be
a poem or a quote to share.
Instead, there was a link
to a place called Munson Hospice.
It caught my eye immediately
because this spelling
of the surname Munson is quite unusual.
I clicked on the link.
It was an article entitled
“Love Light Trees Ease Grief,”
detailing a tree lighting ceremony
that helps families
remember and celebrate
the lives of loved ones
who died of cancer.
It turns out Munson Hospice
is in Traverse City, Michigan –
right by a piece of land my grandparents
purchased nearly a half century ago.
is a quote from
the mother of a little girl
who died a dozen years ago.
“One of the truest things
we can say about grief
is that there is no good time
to lose someone we love.
Grief has no rules, no expiration date.
The truest measure of life
is not it’s length,
but the fullness in which it is lived.”
I have a feeling
this message was not just
intended for me from my Baba,
but for somebody out there
who is missing someone,
who is feeling alone,
who is looking for a ray of hope.
