I am grateful she showed me her delight in a sunset, just looking out the window, or being in the backyard and looking at the changing colors of the sky. Or looking at an eclipse, or stars, or the big beautiful harvest moon together.
I am grateful for the 10 years we spent scuba diving together. Chris would see things that I hadn’t seen in 40 years of diving. I am grateful Chris showed me flowers, how they bloomed, and their beauty. The delight Chris got from plants! Chris would come downstairs and the first stop would be the kitchen sink window so she could look at her little plant. As she looked she got all excited. “Ron come see -there is another leaf coming up!”
And then there is Ingrid, a plant we had since 1999, when my sister Ingrid passed. It spends the winter inside and the rest of the year under the tree in the back yard. It delighted Chris with the number of blooms (11 was the most). She kept count and looked for new ones coming up. She would go and water the plants outside or in the green house and come back totally relaxed and refreshed with news of what she found. The delight she took in the miracle of life!
I always bought her flowers or plants with blooms and buds in various stages, and Chris would delight in seeing the buds develop and bloom. I learned to buy more flowers than plants, because her green thumb kept everything alive. She was always giving plants away.
I am grateful Chris taught me to take delight in looking at simple things like birds and their young coming to the feeders. And the squirrels going after corncobs hanging from the bungie cord. And she would delight in the boisterous red-bellied woodpeckers and named one Himself and his mate Herself. And we would announce: Himself is here! Chris loved nature and showed it to me in all its glory and beauty. I used to be a drive-from-point-A-to point-B person. But not around Chris.
When we went through Death Valley we stopped frequently so she could study all the colors in the rocks or the glittering salt flats. She saw beauty in everything. In Colorado, we sat outside and saw 2 thunderstorms collide and give a spectacular light show. When we rode on the motorcycle she would delight in the scenery and we looked for animals and everything else. I am grateful she taught me to absorb the country, not just see the road.
In 2019, we took South Pacific cruise to celebrate her 80th birthday. Her high point was a jeep tour on Bora-Bora where she was serenaded on a mountain top by the whole group and by the guides in their native language. On the ship she loved to watch the waves, and see all the shades of blue (her favorite color).
A favorite pastime I learned from her was treasuring our landmarks when we traveled. Like the family of silos which started with one big silo and over the years as we drove to back and forth to Brownsville became a family (2 big silos and 3 little kid silos). And every time we traveled that way we made sure the family was still there.
Another shared delight was walking on the beach and seeing the potential in different shells. Whether they were in pieces or whole we picked them up (we have bags of shells). Chris also delighted in collecting acorns of different sizes and shapes to paint them and make a wreath. The joy she got from squirrels picking painted acorns and scattering colored pieces throughout the yard was contagious.
I am grateful for Chris’s help with my career. She always reminded me about coming to UTD to type “Purple Flagella”, my dissertation paper. She was my rock. She constantly opened and exposed me to new experiences. She encouraged me to study more, go to conferences, get more certifications, and always made sure I also got do something fun.
I am grateful she started our business through her love of helping people through the nutrition approach. When I graduated, she gave me a job and we worked together side by side for 40 years.
But above all Chris loved people: she wanted to know about them, and help them. She loved giving little presents, things she made. Earrings, necklaces, paint rocks, beaded Christmas ball ornaments, plants or cuttings - she just loved sharing things. I am grateful for how she would go down the street, meet people and start up a conversation.
I am missing you dearest, (Chris, would light up when I called her that), my love, my guiding light. Now you set me free to find my path. I will honor you and use everything you have given me.
Goodbye dearest, till we meet again,
Ron
