Heavy hearts this Christmas

There is no good time to lose a spouse, a friend, a chapter member, a horsewoman. But there are truly terrible times to suffer such a loss, and this close to Christmas, this close to retirement and all the fun and freedom anticipated in that change, must be one of the worst.

On Monday we lost Chehalem Mountain Chapter member Kristy DeVries (local news report here).  She was new to our chapter, but had jumped in with both feet, volunteering to be our "Media Queen" by making sure our chapter news was distributed around the internet (and prompting the revival of this blog). She was with us at our annual Christmas party, in the thick of the cutthroat gift exchange, delighted to end up with winter riding gloves in purple, her favorite color. To learn that she was gone just eight days later came as a shock to all of us, from those who knew her well to those of us who felt a connection and were looking forward to getting to know her better. Our aching hearts go out to her husband, who is experiencing the biggest loss.

“So you must match time's swiftness with your speed in using it, and you must drink quickly as though from a rapid stream that will not always flow.”

—Seneca, On the Shortness of Life