Had to share this.....

Some days take your breath away with a surprise you don't expect, with a treasured moment that brings you to tears, with a remembrance of how much you've lost.....yesterday was one of those days.

Eric & I had been invited to an art sale for Nat Fast and we were honored to be able to go.  We have become a big fan of Nat's work since meeting his daughter, Marti (Ian's college art teacher).  We found many pieces we liked, one or two we loved and finally, one we loved and could afford.  We made our purchase and were milling around when I spotted a small table with a picture of Nat and a couple of photo albums.  As I lifted the cover of the  album it opened to a page showing this piece:

I couldn't believe I was seeing Ian's signature on a piece of his work again.  A piece we never knew existed  ~ obviously for a class assignment in Junior High. I called Eric over then we called Marti over to see if she knew this was here.  Not until we pointed out Ian's signature did she realize she had this stashed away in a photo album.  She graciously offered to let us take it home and keep it with the rest of Ian's art.  I tried very hard not to cry in this room full of people, but the tears fell anyway.  I'm not sure what I was crying about; a newly discovered piece of Ian's history? a reemerging loss for what could have been? thankfulness for an unexpected treasure?

Just weeks before this, I had come to the conclusion that there would be nothing new for me to discover about my son.  I had seen all his art work, I had heard all his music, I had read everything he had written down (I've even read his homework assignments).  Everything I knew about Ian had already been revealed.  Then this happened, this wonderful gift.  It's not the best piece he every did, but then he was only around 12 but it was the start.  He had already begun to explore the use of  shading and that's a pretty good ear he drew on Nat; I'll ignore Nat's incredible thin right arm and take the gift that was offered - a chance to find out one more thing about Ian that I didn't know.  Thank you God, for this small but oh, so important, gift.  Thank you for recognizing how much I needed this.  Thank you for keeping his memory alive for those who knew him. Thank you for giving me a son I could miss so deeply.

So, yesterday, we left with two treasures: a piece of art from Nat's past and a piece of Ian we didn't have before.  It was a good day.