I left my car on Lopez Island and hopped the ferry bound for Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. It's a gorgeous sunny day, but you definitely need a sweatshirt on the ferry crossing. Me being me, the first thing I did when I got off the ferry was to get myself an espresso drink, then ask for directions to the library. I send many thanks to the nice lady at Curves for her handdrawn map!
Today is the two year anniversary of my dad's death. His death was shocking, partly because it came just over one year after my brother's shocking death. We hadn't recovered from that tragedy before we endured another. Honestly, I don't know how people are supposed to take on so much pain all at once.
I've been thinking about my dad and brother a lot today. Being in Friday Harbor is significant because my brother loved it here. He only came up a couple of times, but it made such an impression that he wanted his ashes scattered here. I suppose one day we will all come as a family and do that for him. That would be nice, I think, for us to experience together. It's hard to do things like that immediately after someone you love dies. I know I wasn't ready to scatter ashes right away, and I really don't think there's anything wrong with waiting awhile.
Okay, to lighten today's post, let me tell you some funny things about my brother. He was a very funny person to be around. You could not spend five minutes with him before he had you laughing at something. That was his gift, bringing laughter and joy to everyone around him. As a kid, he would fart into a bandaid box and save it for later, to open up and make a fart sound! He could make anything funny. At my sister's wedding, he was sitting off to the side, doing the music. He would catch my eye, make funny gestures and whatnot, and I would try to contain my smiles as I stood as bridesmaid in front of the guests, trying to remain solemn. It was tough! Finally, I just had to look away.
As I said, my brother loved it here. What is so funny about that is, he was convinced the San Juan Islands were in Canada. He wouldn't be told otherwise, either. We loved that about him!
My 30 minutes of internet time are nearly up, and I want to go explore the town a little before I leave. I wish I could spend more time writing an ending, writing more thoughtfully about how I am feeling, but that will have to wait.
More later.
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