A long time ago, my sister told me that she was on a date/ish with Ronnie at the start of their relationship.
He reached down, picked up a rock from the ground, and put it in his pocket.
She asked him what he just did, and he told her when there's something special he wants to remember, a special moment, he picks up a pebble. He has a collection.
Some people would have laughed in his face, and Linda may have been amused, but to me, this sounded like next level cute and sweet.
She started calling him Pebble. He has a lot of pet names. Pebble is one of them. She calls him Maple, and he calls her Cakes. So she shortened it to Mapes for him. They are Mapes and Cakes. It's hilarious.
Doug and I never went the cute nickname route. So I'm glad they have a lot for each other.
She also calls him McJerkmott, which kills me.
Fast forward all these years later.
We're at the cemetery Saturday after the graveside service for Ronnie's dad. People are leaving to head over to the mercy meal, and Ronnie is walking around quietly, just spending a little more time. He walked over to the area behind the casket. You know the area. It's the giant pile of dirt, covered with the unnaturally green astroturf colored "rug."
Side note: When I die, cover up that giant pile of dirt with some hippie tapestries from the local head shop, or get the two or three I have in my closet, and cover up the green "rug" with some joyful color.
Anyway, he pulls up the corner of the rug and bends over.
"He's getting a pebble, isn't he?" I said to Linda.
"Yup," she replied.
I thought about taking a picture to remember this by, but, I left it. I'll remember it. The pebble isn't just about something happy anymore it seems, but an event you really want to remember. Linda gave me some pictures, the above photo is the prayer card, and a rock from his parents' house and the one he picked up at the graveside.
Above is a small collection of the rocks near a plant in their living room. The red rock at the end is well, from Red Rocks and is Linda's from our trip to Denver. Below is the garden - everything that isn't a white rock is one that Ronnie picked up somewhere along the line.
Does he remember where every single rock or pebble is from? Probably not. But he's got them.
Thinking on all of Ronnie's pebbles, and saying that I wish you a life where your pebbles, visible and invisible, are gathered, and others gather pebbles of you.
One final note.
On the prayer card above, they used my very favorite scripture. Micah 6:8. It is a different translation than what I know.
He has told you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you,
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
When I was in college we had chapel sessions three times a week. I was asked to read at one service, and this was the passage.
I'm not sure who picked me, and why this was the verse, but, for my whole life I think I've thought of the phrase
do justice.
love kindness.
walk humbly.
It stays with me always.
digits down below:
digits
exercise: not today
blood glucose:
8:30am 191
5pm 141
10pm 201
food:
coffee and water
9:30am slice of 12 grain bread w/peanut butter
10:45am Peach
12:30pm Salad leftovers with chicken salad on top; metformin
4 hard seltzers
4 soft chips ahoy cookies
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