Rainbows Speak Louder Than Words
Day 167, 168, 169, 170, 171 Wednesday September 6 - Saturday September 16 Miles: 0
When I created Emily'sEscapades my intent was to be uplifting and encouraging using my outdoor activities as a way to express those venues. Just like all plans the road to a destination often takes a detour or reroute. Sometimes the goal itself evolves to where it is barely recognizable from the original plan. I am somewhere in the middle. Emily'sEscapades started out as a, hey, look what fun thing I did today, to look what I did and this is what I thought, to this is what I've learned by what I did maybe it can help you. Shortcake and I have been off trail now since we finished our miles on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. I decided I needed to be home with my dying father. I knew it would upset him to see me off trail but I needed to see him. With all that, I promised him Shortcake and I would finish our thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. She and I know it will be cold but we are just going to have to put our big girl panties on and find what we are really made of. I anticipate huge leaps in personal growth with what we will have to do to complete a fall finish of NH and Maine As my family was gathered around in the hospital we glanced out the window in his room. We saw a rainbow 🌈 yesterday. We were all hoping it was a sign. Of course it was a sign! My dad had just slipped into a non communicative state. Each day this week he had been able to talk. As that faded away he could still communicate with hand squeezes and grunts. Yesterday communication stopped. Then the rainbow appeared. He was still talking with us. Just not from this world. His body was hanging on as his spirit was shifting to a place of peace. He sent the colorful icon to let us know he was okay. From the time we saw the rainbow until today he rested calmly for the most part. We gathered around him as we could tell the end was near and as we prayed he passed on as we finished the final prayer. As it's hard to say good-bye he is no longer in pain. He has finished his hike here on earth. Happy Hiking.