Wings Of Gratitude

January 16 2022

Many of us have suffered the loss of a loved one. As the years roll by we feel their presence in our everyday activities. From grocery shopping to sitting at the beach to cooking in the kitchen. A feeling washes over us and we suddenly don't feel alone. We feel their presence. The air around us gets heavy, the world goes silent, and for those few special moments, we are reconnected.

I’ve had countless moments like that with my late husband. His presence is a constant.

I’ve always wanted to acknowledge his unwavering support and love in a most deserving way. I didn't know when that time would come or when it was going to be most appropriate. As I begin to embark on a new property build, I have realized that weaving in nods of gratitude from the soil to the skylights, is the best way to say ‘thank you’ for the decades he has stood by my side. I couldn't have made it through all the years since his passing, without the special moments he gives me, instilling faith in my heart to continue on.

Having the opportunity to build this new home is already a dream come true and I still haven't broken ground, or poured an ounce of concrete. His continued faith and support of my dream is waiting on that hill to be created.

Michael graduated with a degree in architectural design and although he later decided he wanted to be a pilot, I know this build will have his creativity all over it. Ideas come to me in the middle of the night and I have a notebook on my nightstand that I write them down on. Crazy ideas…..ideas you just don't do on a build in Idaho. Glass bridges and atriums. Skylights and rooftop decks. But I’m submitting all of them to my contractor for consideration, and I’m pretty sure by the time we are done with this project he will have a drinking problem. But I explained the significance of this new home, and he gets it. We may not get everything I want to structurally work….but it wont be because we didn't try.

It all starts with assigning an address to the property. When we submit the initial building plans I can request specific numbers. I am submitting a letter to the county, telling my story, and requesting special numbers be assigned that have played an important role in our life together. Three choices are being submitted. It will be fun to see what the universe choses.

In going through some boxes of books and manuals my husband had, I found his architectural books from college. All his drawings and designs were right there. As I read through them, I wiped my hand across his handwritten pages and smiled. There will be a special place in this new home to showcase his work. He would love that.

The most significant ‘thank you’ will be the biggest challenge. A year before his passing, there was a movie being made and many of the scenes involved the Fed Ex facility in Memphis Tennessee. Michael was a pilot for Fed Ex. He would come home from trips and talk about this ‘love story’ movie being made, and that he got to meet Tom Hanks. The movie was Castaway.

Sadly, Michael passed away a year before its completion, and he never got to see the movie.

One of the most symbolic parts of the movie is a pair of angel wings stamped on a Fed Ex box that inspired Tom Hank’s character to believe..…to never lose faith. If you’ve seen the movie….you know.

When the package is finally delivered at the end of the movie, there is a breathtaking pair of huge angel wings made of iron, mounted on a stone at the front of a beautiful piece of property.

A full circle moment of faith, and hope and ultimately love. All wrapped up in a pair of angel wings.

So you guessed it! I will be contracting an ironworks company to build an incredible pair of iron angel wings to be mounted at the front of the property. They will have a spot light on them 24/7, and will mark the completion of this build, and of bringing this home to life.

From that moment on…. there will never be any doubt where my guardian angel can forever rest his wings.

You can never dream too big.

And you can never love too much.

But thats just my opinion. :)