My sweetheart Will and a note I found today, Chichen Itza and Merida

Here is a photo of Will and me in Palm Springs in 2004. That was a fun trip, Will took his mountain bike so he could ride every day in nature. I took books so I could read and a swimming suit so I could swim in the motel pool.

Below is a photo of a note he wrote for me.

I have lots of books in boxes, some of them because I am redecorating a bedroom from carpets to walls painted to a new bed. I bought a new hybrid mattress, foam on the top and inner springs too, supposed to be very comfy and sleep inducing.

I looked through a box of books today and found this sweet note from my husband Will on the cover of one of the books. This is my sixth year of being a widow and it was uplifting to get this note from him. The note reads "Excellent book, plus has some of the places we've been."

This note is one I will treasure forever, with the book. Will and I had 47 happy years together, 45 married. We had many adventures along the way, including hiring a jeep and driver to go to temples and ruins in the Yucatan jungle near Merida, Mexico. In Merida we had met a young couple from France and we enjoyed their company and we split the cost of hiring the jeep and guide with them. We climbed up a steep pyramid in Chichen Itza, with few tourists around. This book includes the Yucatan cities. Good memories. This "Green Dreams" book covers that area of the world.

Below are photos of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, near the Gulf of Mexico.

 

I don't recall too many restaurants from our travels, but one in Merida, Alberto's Continental Restaurant, stood out. It was in a hacienda with Moorish arches and total charm, built in the 1700s. The food was excellent, Lebanese, Yucatecan and Mexican. We loved the lime soup and Lebanese food. Alberto was a charming host, but sad to say, he closed the restaurant when he was in his 80s, back in 2013. So this isn't a place I can suggest you visit. Good times though.

Finding a note from my husband led me to write this post, taking me from a note to the Yucatan, in a trip down memory lane.

My Handsome Loving Hubby, Gone Four Years Today

Yes, my dear husband, William Hangen, died four years ago today. How sad. We shared 47 happy years together, and he died a few days before our 45th wedding anniversary.

Here are some photos.

Lane, Will and Colt on Will's birthday in August 2016, he was age 69.

Above photo: Will and I on vacation in Palm Springs in 2004. Of course he took his mountain bike with him so he could explore trails. His articles and photos of adventurous rides appeared in many biking and travel magazines. Below photo: Will and I enjoying Thanksgiving in 2015. You can see 4 place settings for us and Colt and Lane. Little did we know that would be our last Thanksgiving with Will. So sad.

Will and two guys he rode on mountain trails with.

Colt, me, Lane and Bounce at our first Christmas without our darling Will. We were still in a state of shock. We adopted Bounce at Thanksgiving in 2016.

I found a spot in a city park near our house that allows memorial benches, so I bought one for Will. The park is about a block from our house, and the bench is near children's swings and a skateboard area. I had them carve a mountain bike on one of the boards. The bench says "Bike Adventures" because Will loved riding his mountain bikes every day on nearby trails, and in wild areas on many vacations and magazine writing trips. In the photo below is a rose made of straw, left there by someone, we don't know who, but someone who misses Will too.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Happy Birthday to my darling Will, I miss you

My husband Will would have been 72 on this his birthday, on August 27. My words are not able to convey how much I miss him, so I include here the profound words to Death Is Nothing At All

Henry Scott Holland

Original version read as a sermon upon the death of King Edward VII

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.

All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Bounce sitting on Will's memorial bench that we donated to the park near our house, where we can sit and watch the skateboard park and children's swings. Can you see the rose made of straw left there by an unknown person? The bench says "Bike Adventures" and has a bike carved into the back. That was my man!

Poems in my neigbhor's yard and my husband

The photo above is of a poetry holder in my neighbor's yard. Isn't that a brilliant idea? He or she changes the poems about once a month and they are always a treat to read as Bounce and I take our walks.
Below is a favorite poem, not from the neighbor's posting, but one I like. Today would have been my husband Will's 71st birthday and I am thinking of him and how his candle glowed amidst the winds of life.

CANDLE AGAINST THE WIND
​​​​​​​I know that I have life
​​​​​​​only insofar as I have love.
​​​​​​​I have not love
​​​​​​​except it comes from Thee.
​​​​​​​Help me, please, to carry
​​​​​​​this candle against the Wind.
written by ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Wendell Berry

Sad news about my husband Will

The worst day of my life was two weeks ago, when my beloved husband Will died unexpectedly.
Our sons and I are in shock, stunned and finding it hard to believe.

The above is a recent photo that shows him smiling and in our back yard.
Below is Will with one of his several mountain bikes.

Our sons stayed with me at our house 24/7 for two full weeks, and then returned to their homes and work. It was wonderful to see them treating each other and me so beautifully and tenderly.
They stayed busy at our house doing an amazing job of home improvements including buying a rug cleaner and cleaning the rugs, clearing out the back addition to our house, buying a big shop vacuum and cleaning and clearing the garage, buying and putting up new curtains in the living room, had our fireplace inspected so we can use it, bought me wood, bought me an Alexa Firestick and taught me how to use it (you talk to her and she plays what you want on tv) and so much more. Together we made 5 trips to 3 places for rescue dogs to find me a dog and we found a cute Chihuahua terrier mix at the animal shelter.
I will post more about Will soon, he was a super good husband, dad and very talented and creative.
Still, there is no way around it. We are heart broken. I am exhausted and sad, sad, sad. But Will and I had 45 years of marriage, so we were blessed in that. Please, hug your loved ones. I know you will.