10,000 feet...A little closer to heaven

Over the past few days I have been at 10,000 feet twice. Once by climbing and once by flying. It was crazy to me that at 10,000 feet on an airplane you need to have oxygen if the plane depressurizes, but when Eric and I were climbing that was the last thing that crossed my mind. (until of course Eric pointed it out to me...”this is when the oxygen is a must."

Yes, the breathing was a little harder but the peacefulness was undeniable. As I am writing this, I am currently at 30,000 feet looking out my airplane window. The view is one that I love. The peaks and valleys, the white clouds and blue sky, the green land, and the curves at the rivers. It is all connected in a sort of unrealistic way. To think of all the things that are going on 30,000 feet below me makes me wonder if those that have passed away before us are watching in somewhat the same way. And if they are, is it a helpless feeling?

 I am not sure that I’ve ever admitted this to anyone, but in my heart and in my soul, every time I fly I feel a little closer to my mom, and to heaven in general. I have this hopeful feeling that those I am thinking about are feeling a little ounce of love, and I wonder... maybe they’re just a little more in reach. Not once have I ever flown without looking out the window and feeling closer to her, and others that have passed before me.  When my mom died, I had been flying from Charleston to Milwaukee every week for the last eight weeks of her life. Every time I flew I would stare out the window and ask God for it all to go away and let her be all right. Then after she was gone and I flew, I started talking to her.  (Don’t worry, not out loud!) I know this all sounds a little nuts, but then again that’s just me. A little crazy a little over emotional. But who’s to say this isn’t a thing? I am up here right now coming home a day earlier than planned to to go to my neighbors funeral. May Her Memory Be A blessing  

I can’t say that I’m not looking out thinking about her today. A beautiful soul gone too early. It doesn’t matter that I only had known her from a far, she is the one I’m thinking about today. And my mom, because that’s a given. ❤

There are times that I am flying in tears just start rolling. Once about a year ago, the flight attendant caught this and came back to me with a Kleenex. I felt a little funny about that, but it didn’t matter that she didn’t know why I was crying, she just knew I was. Thankfully she didn’t ask if I was OK, or what was wrong. Because if she did, what would I say?  “I am just talking to my mom out there in the clouds, and I miss her."...I can’t say that anyone will get this feeling that I’m talking about, but I must say, it is a feeling of closeness that I never thought could be a thing.  It is a feeling so strong in my heart that I feel it in my stomach when I get up in the air. You can take all of this with a grain of salt, you can take it as a hopeful part of my soul, you can take it anyway you want. All I know is that 10,000 feet is a little closer to heaven.

May Her Memory Be Blessing ♥♥ In Jewish tradition, each time you think of someone who has passed on or say their name, they are blessed and so are you. The memory you have of them turns into a blessing for you and for their soul

 

~Kali and Kevin~ 

5 years ago this August, I wrote a blog about our 16 year old next door neighbor, Kevin, who passed away in a car accident (May His Memory Be A Blessing).  Tragedy has struck our little neighborhood again this past week.  Our neighborhood has not turned over a lot in the past years since all of our kids were growing up. Many of the same families have watched each others kids from preschool to graduating high school. Many of these kids were a tight knit group and have now endured the loss of 2 friends in 5 years.

The Reinhardt family has endured a devastation that has affected so many.  This family of 6, Ray, Heather, Jake, Jack, Josh, and Kali has changed forever.

Last Saturday night their daughter and sister Kali (24) was out with friends and collapsed.  She was taken to Northwestern hospital in Chicago. She was treated for a headache and an ankle sprain.  During the night Kali stopped breathing and was intibated.  It was determined that she had an unknown condition that didn't allow her brain to swell properly when it needed to.  There was no way of knowing this...

Kalis mom, Heather, immediately started writing a Caring Bridge...https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kalireinhardt

The strength of this woman, this mom, is unlike any mom I have ever known.  I always knew her to be very strong . (I have known Heather for years because our older sons are friends and our youngest, Sadie and Josh are best friends...) Her fight proves not only her strength but her love for her family. She has more eloquence in her writing on the Caring Bridge than most would in this situation.  She posted pictures of Kalis hands being held by her brothers, boyfriend, godparents, and she and her husband Ray.  She opened herself up and let everyone who was following Kalis "journey" feel every emotion.  I had only met Kali a handful of times, but every time a new journal was written my stomach ached...I read...I cried...  Any mom would find tears falling, any mom who has kids young or old will feel the pain in her words.  But every word is written with so much love.  Kali was a very lucky girl to have the support, love and prayers from so many.  She touched so many lives in her short 24 years, from high school, college and living in Chicago. She now will touch lives in a way that she never imagined that she would.  She has donated her organs through The Gift Of Hope to families that were so patiently waiting.  Like I said, I had only had the privilege of meeting her a few times, but I can say with confidence that heaven has gained an angel.  She will be watching over her mom and dad, Jake, Jack, Josh, Mitch, all of her friends and family.  The world lost a beautiful girl, but heaven gained a beautiful soul.

Please send this family prayers and strength during this unfathomable time.
May Her Memory Be A Blessing ❤