Sometimes the smallest gestures can have the grandest outcomes.
Waves of grief poured over me yesterday, palpable and raw. Before all of this, I can’t remember ever feeling so sad. So lost. So afraid.
What would tomorrow bring?
Kindness and love.
Thank you to Maatje Stamp-Vincent from TasteFull Excursions who graciously offered and arranged a Kamloops Wine Tour. It was such a wonderful way to explore the Kamloops area. We visited Privato, Monte Creek and Harper’s Trail wineries. It was an incredible gesture by a beautiful woman who knew just what I needed today. A sense of normalcy. A day to regroup. A time to make plans without the prison we have found ourselves in, looming over us. She was an angel who knew what we needed even when we didn’t.
And wonderfully, we had the opportunity to share this experience with our family and friends. My mom, dad, Cheryl and Stacey joined Scott and I. That was the kindness.
Now let me tell you about love. A mother’s love. There was a young man named Cooper. He met Ryan here in Sun Peaks. They shared so many characteristics which made them fast friends. Ryan’s disappearance deeply affected Cooper.
Stacey is Cooper’s mom.
She flew here from Australia to spend 2 weeks searching for Ryan. She arrived in Canada two days after her son left on another adventure to Europe. She knows no one here. But she felt compelled to come. Because… What if it was her son? What if it was any one of children? Who would help? Who would search? Who would hope and believe? I find her to be incredible. What she has chosen to do is indescribable. Beyond kindness but full of love.
So today as I stood, I felt the bones of my ancestors run through my spine, straight and true. The beating of my heart comes from the richness of their blood. I am whole. Bruised and battered but strong. Just as importantly, I look around and see that I am surrounded by such kindness and love. From friends. From family. From strangers. How so very grand.