On the night before the moon was fullest, I took a long walk with Dudley, my little brown dog, in the hour before midnight. The streetlights were out and we saw our shadows from the light of the nearly full moon, elongating our short legs (Dudley and I are both vertically challenged) and slimming our bodies. Perhaps more impressive were the spindly shadows of the trees, embracing us as we walked through them. A fox crossed the road ahead, exciting the dog and giving me a feeling that something was about to happen.
The next morning, I heard that a dear family friend passed in the night of that same nearly full moon. Ed was of my parents’ generation, bedridden for some time.
He would have liked those moon shadows on his last night. A scientist and a minister, he was a teacher, a friend, and fancier of all things in nature. He personified love and grace through his tender care of living things and his ability to invoke humor at the perfect time in a conversation or awkward moment.
Under a rock or in the murkiest of waters, Ed helped me dislodge living treasures. With his guidance, plants bloomed and flourished and previously unnoticed objects in nature became precious.
He was my friend when I was a dorky middle schooler. I got to accompany him on some of his expeditions to find plants and creatures in lakes and ponds. He taught me a greater appreciation for living things, and for the thrill of discoveries in nature. Skinks and worms, beetles and spiders, minnows and tadpoles - they were all part of the nature safari.
Ed encouraged my love of the pond, and I shared recent photos with him of the one in my own garden. He bought me a beautiful pair of angel fish for my aquarium when I was twelve. I was heartbroken when my heater malfunctioned and I poached them; worse than the murders was the fear of having to tell him. He understood and was sweetly sympathetic, but recommended I stick to less fragile aquarium treasures after that.
Ed conducted the memorial service for my Dad. He told stories about their adventures; they too were good friends and fellow nature lovers. He shed a few tears at that service. I like it that I shared him with my Dad.
I learned many lessons from Ed. Here are just a few:
- Creepy crawly things are cool.
- You never know what you might find under a rock.
- Beauty comes in some surprising packages.
- A day by the water is a gift from God.
- Life is both fragile and magical.
- The mentoring of a grownup can change a child’s life in countless ways.
The moon was fullest on Ed’s first night in heaven. I imagine he and Dad took a long walk together.
