Narrative to Previous Post

So I posted a picture of Rob and Sean at the reunion two posts ago stating that I would follow up with a narrative...so here goes!

After over a year of planning the day finally came. Rob was asked to play at a reunion we attend every year. It is not a school reunion but instead a reunion of folks that celebrate their recovery. I look forward every year to the reunion as I just bask in the beauty of Tuscon, the quiet resort we stay at and most of all the quality of time spent with loved ones.

This year had a special twist. Rob was playing his music for the first time live. Over the past year Rob has written and recorded his first album. My brother Sean was his producer, co-writer and friend throughout the process. Rob's album is recovery driven. The album is a journey thru his dark days and expressing as only music can the deep pain he shares with others who have struggled the same. By no way is the music happy or even uplifting in the traditional sense but it is deeply moving and inspiring to those who know his story.

The first portion of the weekend was just beautiful. We had dinner Friday night with the group and then as Rob ran a meeting I spent it under the stars with a dear friend sharing intimate details of life you only would in that setting. Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00 am only to realize the bus to the hike in the Catalina mountains had already left... oh, well it was meant to be. I spent the wee hours of the morning sipping my coffee and watching the sunrise. I read the paper and took some time with Jesus to just celebrate the moment. I have so much to be grateful for. Every day has been a step forward in our marriage and I wanted to take the time to celebrate and rejoice.

We had breakfast on the terrace with friends and attended a meditation workshop that included a little yoga. I was in heaven!!!!! We then took a little nap before my highlight of the weekend...my nieces arrived. We had lunch together and while the boys went to prepare for the performance the following day us girls played and swam in the pool. It is not often that I get that amount of concentrated time with my beautiful nieces. Oh, how I love them. Every bit of them. Their smile, their naughtiness, their hugs and kisses...oh I could go on forever. I believe this is what grandparents talk about when their first grandchild is born. I have the blessing of having four nieces and I just relish my time with each and everyone of them.

After the play date Rob and I attended dinner that evening that included a comedian that nearly caused me to have an accident I was laughing so hard. I even had the opportunity to attend a meeting with Rob after the dinner. But the best was still to come...

We arrived at our room located only one door down from Sean and Cate's to find them snuggling on the lounge chairs in front of the pool enjoying the starry evening. So of course we decided to join in. We stayed up way past bedtime laughing and enjoying the company of family and even more importantly our friends.

Sunday morning came by way too quick. We rushed to the rehab facility and ate a quick breakfast before heading the meeting....so here goes.

Many may not now but the picture on the front of the album is Rob's body map. What is a body map you might ask? Well, if you have ever been to a treatment center you already know but for the rest of us it is a life size contour of a person's body painted in with every injury they have experienced. Rob's is a little overwhelming. Rob started by explaining the body map and then diving right into his testimony. Each song he played was accompanied by the life experience behind it. It was sobering. Not only to the in patients but also the rest of the group. There were tears, sighs, held breaths and just sheer horror on some people's faces. Others nodded because they knew the pain.

The music was painstaking, not because it wasn't performed beautifully, but because the message was deep. When all you want to do is look away and think of pretty things you are reminded of the horror and pain that so many people carry with them every day. But if you are truly listening you will find God in each word and harmony.

There were many tears shed during what is called, the share. I was grateful. Grateful because Sean was able to part of the celebration of the disease that almost took the life of his best friend 5 years ago. Grateful because as the inpatients shared with Rob afterwards, they didn't feel so alone in their struggle. Grateful that music can express what words can't. Grateful to be the wife of man who found his passion, his purpose in life.

So that is my narrative.