A day of serenity at Belle Isle

 

 

Our friend Jayne lost her mother in November of last year.  It was decided to have a gathering of family and friends at Belle Isle.  It was on beautiful yesterday.  For those that might not be familiar with this location, it is an island on the Detroit River on the east side.  Its a lovely place with walking paths, a place to kayak and numerous historic building. 

One of which is the Belle Isle Aquarium which is the oldest public facility of its kind in America.  There is also a massive conservatory filled with all manner of plantings many of which are the tropical varieties shown in these photos. 

It was a very sweet celebration of her life with generations of family and friends speaking in the fondest terms.  I knew Ruth a little from family gatherings and as a fellow resident.  She was always cheery and moving, constantly moving.  My friend Bill was with her walking group that went everywhere to stride along and take in the sights.  When my time comes, I want to be barbecued, put into a jar or maybe be planted as a tree.  I want no service with some guy I don't know reading from a book.

Then after a time,  a gathering some place in the open where people get together and commiserate telling funny stories, eating and relaxing with kids running around making noise and lots of smiles.

The top photo is Jayne and Judy, two warrior mothers and grandmothers.  They don't look alike but think alike in more ways than I can count and have a closeness that cannot be measured.   All and all, a really nice day.

all for now

stay safe