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Picture of the day -
September 2, 2006
The Empty Swing
Click photo to enlarge
She would always be sitting there as the tractors pulled up in
front of the
house with their trailers loaded down with her precious family and
dearest friends. The stop at the house is something of a ritual - an
opportunity for folks to join the hayride at the last minute or to
simply wave and see the others off as we embarked on our yearly trip down
memory lane.
For many in the Thomas clan, the annual
hayride along the narrow
roads winding through the hills and "hollers" of the Lodi,
Friendship, Rush Creek and Widener Valley communities is the
highlight of each Thomas Family Reunion. And so it was for one very
special woman...
"Aunt Cel" Cook
was one of the kindest, most loving women I have ever met. Ever
since the day Cheria first introduced me to her, she made me feel
like a life-long member of the family, opening both her heart and
home to me like few others would have. But then she was that way
with everyone, always gracious and accepting of others regardless of
their background or status in life. She was certainly opinionated -
she spoke her mind when she felt the situation called for it, but
she always did it with the love of the Lord and her fellow man in her heart, never out
of spite or vindictiveness. She was truly a good person.
I came to know Celia Cook late in her life, long after the years had
begun to take their toll on her body and restrict her ability to get
around. I only had the privilege of knowing her for about 3 years,
but during that time I came to understand why Cheria loved her so
much.
You see, Aunt Cel had always been in Cheria's life. One of my
favorite photographs shows a 6 or 7 year old Cheria looking into a
mirror with her Aunt Cel standing in the background, obviously happy
to be a new member of the
Cook family.
When I look at that picture, I can almost feel the love these two
special people had for one another, and that love never faded
as the years and miles separated them from one another.
Aunt Cel always loved the Thomas family reunions because they
allowed her to see her precious family and friends at least once a
year. She also loved the hayrides with their trips down memory lane
and up Rush Creek where she grew up so many years ago. But
eventually she became too weak and frail to endure the challenging
ride, so she became content to just sit in the swing and see the
others off as they embarked on their annual pilgrimage through the
southwestern Virginia countryside.
This was the first year since I began riding along with them that
Aunt Cel wasn't sitting there in the swing under the shade tree.
That swing looked so empty today, and I noticed more than a few
tears in Cheria's eyes as we pulled up in front of the house to let
the remaining few board the farm trailers. But come to think of it,
that swing probably wasn't empty at all. Aunt Cel was probably there
in spirit, once again watching her loved ones take off on the
journey that was always so special to her... and wanting everyone to
understand that she is by far the happiest soul at this year's reunion. She
is now in the presence of the Lord.
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