On Saturday Abe and I went on a run, packed everything and everyone up, and then drove to Boise for Ben Martineau’s memorial dinner.
It is such a shock knowing he’s gone. We reminisced about him on the way up. It was also so sad seeing Candace and her kids and knowing how hard this must be for them. The most poignant part of the evening was when everyone released balloons with lights inside of them and memories attached to them into the sky. My heart just broke for my dear friend.
Abe took this picture earlier in the evening, during the dinner. (We just ate on the lawn because it was too crazy in the tent with the kids.)
Abe told me a cute story about Ammon. I guess the kid were all playing with the balloons, and some little boy started crying because his popped. Abe told Ammon to give his balloon to the little boy. Ammon walked right up to the boy, literally nose-to-nose–inches away from his face–pointed, turned to Abe, and said, “This boy?”
When Abe said, yes, that was the crying boy that needed a balloon, Ammon immediately handed his over, turned aound to Abe and burst into tears. Of course Abe’s heart melted and then he asked Mary to share her balloon, which she also did immediately, no questions asked. We are all so proud of Ammon and Mary.
My own heart was touched over dinner with Lydia, who was processing an exchange she’d had with a boy at the funeral. He had made fun of her for her speech issues (she is in therapy because she struggles to say “r”) and called her a baby. Then he started poking her with a stick. Lydia asked him to please stop poking her. He continued, so Abe intervened. The boy backed off, and then Lydia spent dinner wondering why anyone would do that. She was genuinely confused because she has never been bullied or made fun of before, and it was startling to her to discover that some people can be so mean. She wasn’t mad at the boy at all, but spent a lot of time wondering why. As I watched her thin little form process this new reality, my heart just went straight out to her. Lydia has one of the sweetest, purest souls and I learned so much from the way she didn’t judge or act unkind toward the boy who had hurt her.
Clarissa was a handful, wandering around and trying to test every boundary. I will be so happy when we are past this stage.