Another message from Janice...
This morning I received this directly from Janice...
We are heading home tomorrow, at least leaving Nepal. Wow, the time has gone by so fast for me and so slow for Paige.
But back to the trek. Our next mission was to find the special place to string the prayer flags. These flags have flown over my patio for ten years and many well-wishers had written words upon the yellow, blue, white, green and red cotton pages of prayer and life. I have photographed each page so the flags might fade but the words and images will live on forever. Before leaving home I went again to visit my sons grave site and got an rubbing from his head stone and soiled the four corners with the earth. Then each of my children and myself signed the white flag and surrounded Erik with love. These flags were for him and my heart was there also.
As we ascended I knew exactly where I wanted to hang the flags. It would be on the high side of a long old wooden bridge that crossed the rushing glacier water far below. We paused for some time on a large warm rock and I cried rather healthily into my scarf. Paige and Lhukpa allowed me the time and I took it with deep and meaningful sorrow. Then I pointed to Lhukpa that I wanted the flags strung from the modest cedar tree about six above the rock butte and the other end touching the other flags covering the upward side of the bridge. Lhukpa climbed the boulder and the tree to place the at the highest point that he could reach and then secured the other draping side securely. I captured the entire process in my mind as well as through the lens of my video camera. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as my dream was being completed. what a blessing for the flags, the cedar tree and for myself.
From the flags point of view there was and rushing blue grey glacier river far below, wind, snow, endless streams of people and animals. It is the belief that the flags with eventually lose the color, words and cloth back to the earth from where they began. My human flag poles motioned that it was time to move on and I did knowing that a part of myself would remain there forever.
We are heading home tomorrow, at least leaving Nepal. Wow, the time has gone by so fast for me and so slow for Paige.
But back to the trek. Our next mission was to find the special place to string the prayer flags. These flags have flown over my patio for ten years and many well-wishers had written words upon the yellow, blue, white, green and red cotton pages of prayer and life. I have photographed each page so the flags might fade but the words and images will live on forever. Before leaving home I went again to visit my sons grave site and got an rubbing from his head stone and soiled the four corners with the earth. Then each of my children and myself signed the white flag and surrounded Erik with love. These flags were for him and my heart was there also.
As we ascended I knew exactly where I wanted to hang the flags. It would be on the high side of a long old wooden bridge that crossed the rushing glacier water far below. We paused for some time on a large warm rock and I cried rather healthily into my scarf. Paige and Lhukpa allowed me the time and I took it with deep and meaningful sorrow. Then I pointed to Lhukpa that I wanted the flags strung from the modest cedar tree about six above the rock butte and the other end touching the other flags covering the upward side of the bridge. Lhukpa climbed the boulder and the tree to place the at the highest point that he could reach and then secured the other draping side securely. I captured the entire process in my mind as well as through the lens of my video camera. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as my dream was being completed. what a blessing for the flags, the cedar tree and for myself.
From the flags point of view there was and rushing blue grey glacier river far below, wind, snow, endless streams of people and animals. It is the belief that the flags with eventually lose the color, words and cloth back to the earth from where they began. My human flag poles motioned that it was time to move on and I did knowing that a part of myself would remain there forever.
posted by Roger Connelly at 7:42 AM
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