The Wool Anniversary

"As long as I live, you will live, as long as I live, you will be remembered, as l live, you will be loved." ~Anonymous

Our wedding day, Kamiak Butte, Washington

     The 18th of June is our Seventh wedding anniversary; my second without Les. Time does not dull the pain of his death. The necessary demands of life cause it to recede into the background while one grapples with the activities of daily living. The moment I think of Les and our life together, memories rush over me and the pain of my loss returns with a force that bites deep and takes my breath away. This is the other side of the coin of what it means to truly love someone and give them your heart. 
     I am struck by the depth of love in Les' eyes as he looks back at me when I took these pictures and now, nearly sixteen months after his death, I sometimes find myself caught in a memory-moment. A piece of music will come on the radio and suddenly Les is here like a hologram, doing his crazy little dance he used to do for me, or someone on telly will make a statement and I can hear Les' voice clearly in my mind replying sarcastically. Occasionally on the news coverage of a football match a team makes a goal and I hear Les exclaiming excitedly, "Go on boy, get it in! Yes!!!" Sometimes in the very still small hours of those countless nights when I cannot sleep, I hear Les say, "I love you Jaqueline Marie Almdale Biggs."

Taken on the back of NB Valerie in May 2011 during my pre-wedding visit.

Les showing me the ruins of the motte and bailey at Berkhamstead, May 2011.

Dancing at our wedding reception at Chrisi and Keith Kincaid's farm, Pullman, WA July 2011.

Les relaxing on the back deck of Cloudhouse--our home in Pullman, Washington. June 2011.

Les and our Grandson Connor at Laird Park, August 2011. We took a picnic and spent the day with family, swimming in the river under the hot summer sun.

Les reveling in his catch on a never to be forgotten boating trip on the Snake River in Washington with friends Roger and Joe, August 2011.

Les posing with the statue of the Station Master in some small Washington State town. We were on our way to Seattle for a three day honeymoon before flying back to England and NB Valerie.

Les trying out our friend Karen's Segway, Pullman, Washington, August 2011. Wearing her flowered helmet was part of the deal!

Cheeky Les at the tiller in March 2012 on our way to Llangollen.

Les waiting for me at Burland on the Llangollen canal in 2012. I was returning from a walk to the Burland country Store for a Saturday paper and the best pies we ever ate.

The Bluebird of Happiness stretching his wings as we hiked to the ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey near Llangollen, March 2012.

Les in paroxysms of delight over a freshly baked chocolate Kahlua cake, May 2012.

Les giving me a mock-sexy pose on the Audlem Flight,Spring 2012.

The quintessential Englishman with his brolly, on the grounds of Dunham Massey Estate, Bridgewater canal, July 2012.

One of the countess times we stopped to score wood along our travels.

Les loved chopping wood. It gave him a great sense of accomplishment and appealed to his deep sense of thrift--accumulating a winter heat source for nothing more than a few hours labor. I loved helping him stack the wood on the roof, bark upwards, in neat sections to dry in the summer sun.

At our daughter Sparky's apartment in Portland, Oregon, November 2012. Our daughter Jesse in the background decorating cupcakes for her sister's wedding the next day.

Daughter-in-law Kelli, MOBs, daughter Sparky, FOBs, November 2012.

Les and his girls after the wedding, November 2012.

Les warm and cozy in his new LL Bean down jacket, on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint, Idaho, November 2012.

Bliss! Portland, Oregon, November 2012.

Teaching Les the joy of playing in the snow, January 2013, Blisworth.

Wakey-wakey baby! Les before his morning tea, 2012.

I love this picture! Les having a moment, April 2013 moored up above Walthamstead Lock, the Lea and Stort navigation.

My boys (Les and son Kevin) cleaning up after a spaghetti lunch with family aboard NB Valerie, March 2014.

Les posing on the Lapworth flight, September 2015. It took me 10 months after his liver surgery to get him back to this fit state.

My baby making kissy lips at a kissing gate on the Wendover Arm, 2015.

Les was always happiest at the tiller of our boat, cruising through life at 2 MPH.

Look at the love in his eyes...Granddad with Kiernan and Kiera, Campbell Park, 2015.

Granddad in a happy moment, August 2016, at Cowroast, with our grandsons Teo and Battu.

Les, our grandson Jack, daughter-in-law Bev, and me, Cowroast, August 2016.

Me and my shadow, always.