Snowflake

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand ­ and melting like a snowflake.  Let us use it before it is too late"    Marie Beyon Ray

My marriage ended in 1999, a year later,  I met John.

We became such good friends.  He would tell me that he loved me and I would shy away from saying it back.. because, I was still dealing with the hurt of a broken marriage.

Christmas time came and we exchanged gifts.. We agreed ahead of time that it would be one gift, that's it.  Something that had special meaning.

I gave him a snowflake.  It was made of stained glass and metal work.  It was gorgeous.

To me, snowflakes are beautiful.  They are each unique and if we don't appreciate their beauty for their brief existence, we have lost the opportunity to do so.

John loved the gift.  He said that he would put it in his work vehicle so that as he saw it all day, it would remind him of me.

John died of cancer later that year.  It took him within a few months.

You know, it was only after I knew that I was losing him that I told him that I loved him back.  It was then that I realized how much. 

I felt I had lost true love, the day that he passed.  

A year passed and winter came once again.  I was sledding with the kids. I sat down in the cold snow for a moment, to rest.

I happened to look down at my glove and as I did..  The most beautiful snowflake landed right infront of my eyes, there on my glove.   Have you ever seen a real snowflake close up?  I mean, I'm sure I have before in my many years on this earth.  But, this snowflake caught me off guard.

It's intricate, sparkling pattern was breathtaking. I felt all of the wonder of a child experiencing this sight for the first time. 

It touched me so and as I watched it disappear in my hand,  I cried.   Not for it's leaving but for it ever being there in the first place.  For being allowed to witness the awesome beauty of something so natural.  What a magical gift from above.

There was no doubt in my mind that John sent that gift from heaven. 

A reminder of the beauty of the friendship that we once shared.  

tad 12-2-07