a celebration

Caleb wanted us to have a party to celebrate his life, so on Friday friends and family gathered from many corners of the world. We chatted on the lawn and porch of the beautiful summer home he built with his own two hands. Perched on the shore of a cove on Mount Desert Island, ME, it is one of my favorite places on earth. It was hard for us to be there without him.

There was a very sweet service, where many a story was told. Caleb was an emergency room doctor, an outdoorsman, an athlete, a sailor...but he was remembered most for the way scooped people up into his zest for life and infected everyone with his enthusiasm and sense of fun. There were memories shared and poems, too. There was a song, written and sung, "Great Uncle Caleb", by his two "great nieces".

There was silence at the end, with plenty of time for people to let it all sink in. The pines sighed, the gulls  cawed, the waves slapped the sides of the boats moored in the cove. Caleb was there, too, I am sure of it.

Then, as instructed, there was a party! A neighbor brought flowers from her garden, and everyone enjoyed a pot luck picnic of Caleb's favorites...corn on the cob, baked beans, "red hot dogs" (a Maine specialty???), and of course, tapioca.

Caleb's grandchildren led the braver folks in some hill rolling...

Lots of family pictures were taken...

And the perfect benediction to the day...a few hearty souls went waterskiing in the still waters of the cove (Caleb's early evening ritual).

Thank you Caleb, for scooping me up and folding me into your wondrous life. So, so many of us will miss your laughter, your grin and your generosity of spirit. Rest in peace.