Today I was asked to share a picture of Sam that could be used to go along with an article about Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude. My original thought was to share the picture of him (his senior picture) sitting at the top of his favorite mountain.

But family members suggested differently, wanting one of the pictures of him taken during his last summer, when he was working on the farm in Brandon. And they were right. Sam loved farming, he loved his farm friends, and those pictures are just plain beautiful

Here’s the thing. Those photos are beautiful. They are so Sam. When they were taken, I loved them immediately, and they made me happy. Now, I still love them, but I admit, as I smile at them, my eyes are filled with tears.

As I have said before, grief doesn’t get easier with time. It gets different. I love those photos, I love Sam, and I wish I could take more photos of him still…