Thursday, September 20, 2018

9/19/2018 Caring Bridge

Journal entry by Joanne Negstad — 22 hours ago
For many years Joanne and I listened to 'The Morning Show' on MPR while having breakfast.  The show was hosted by Dale Connolly and Jim Ed Poole.  It was folksy with 'campy' music and good natured banter between the hosts.  A CD was produced, called 'Keepers', which featured the most popular songs from the show.
    Since Joanne's death I typically eat breakfast at home as I read the morning paper.  To fill the quiet of this time I have been systematically playing through our collections of CDs.  Today, for the first time in years, I played 'Keepers'.  That's all it took to make the tears flow as I remembered the house and life we occupied in Golden Valley, from 1988-2010. I could visualize the kitchen and the library that housed the stereo. I could see Joanne and I enjoying the music...think Prairie Home Companion, genre...and the friendly kitsch of the hosts.  
   It was more than memories of breakast time that brought the tears.  The whole experience of living those years in that house was symbolized by 'Keepers'.  We had very good years there.  Joanne, whom I teased about being vocationally unstable, had 5 jobs in that time; LSS MN, MSSA, LSA, LSS SD and LWR.  (Confused about those initials? A hint "L" stands for Lutheran.)  While she had those jobs I held forth at St. James.  Both of us retired while living there.  Many of you were in that home.
   Grief is sneaky...it pops up when I least expect it.  At other times, when I anticipate difficulty, there is none.

Blessings,

Al

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