It's a fitting night to say goodbye to one of my dearest and oldest friends. Thick blue black clouds hang low in the autumn night sky and a cold wind blows the fallen leaves across the road. As I drive, a light rain splatters on the windshield, making it difficult to see the winding country road.
I arrive at the dark little cottage and step out of my car, breathing the familiar lake scented air. The cold wind makes a melancholy sound as it blows down the lake and across the road into the cornfields. A conflicting sense of peace and sadness fills me as I stand there for a moment, reluctant to enter and say my final farewell.
It's chilly inside and I hurry to light the little gas fireplace. I walk across the room, and as I lovingly place my hand on my longtime friend, a flood of memories envelopes me. I am startled to see how old my hand looks because I am tumbling back in time. I am a young girl again and my mom, who often gets lost in her own secret world of melancholy, is asking me to play my music for her. Even though her sadness is too much for a small girl to comprehend, on some level I understand that it gives her a rare moment of peace and it makes me happy to be able to do so.
I pull up a chair to my dear old friend and sit down one last time, and as the sweet sounds fill the air, all of the past becomes present. I am a child, a young woman, a mother and a wife at the same time. The songs echo down through the years, sometimes joined by the voices of my family. I feel my mom smiling as I play for her......hoping that she can still hear me. I finally understand deep in my heart the depth of the gift of music she gave me so long ago. My song becomes a prayer of gratitude and love drifting out into the silence of the empty room and far beyond the dark expanse of lake and sky outside the tiny cottage.
I am so taken up into the past that I am startled by a tentative knock on the door. A shy and smiling young couple stands there drawn by the music. I have been expecting them. I let them in and play for them for a little while. I see the love of music shining from their eyes as they place their hands on my old friend, and I am relieved to know that it will be cherished and well taken care of. I see many years of happy musical memories in their future and I wish them well in their new life together.
I climb into my car outside the darkened and quiet little cottage I used to call home. The cold rain and my tears fall silently as I whisper goodbye and drive away.
Click here to listen to the farewell song, played for my mom and all of the good memories. Apologies in advance for being a bit rusty. Sorry about the trophy buck on the wall. I prefer the live variety out in the woods, but it's not my cottage anymore. https://youtu.be/Rhwsc0WMSgw
