2nd Year Memorial in Cherokee

I left 3am in the morning on March 31st to head up to Cherokee for Rich’s second anniversary of his passing. I sent Rich another memorial boat in the same spot we sent the 1st one with my daughter and son-in-law, Chris and Bryon in 2024 and another one in 2025. This has always been our spot on the river, it’s so peaceful and when we sent the 1st boat, I knew he was where he wanted to be and was at peace.

The memorial boat was made from dried roses, petals from an iris plant from my church angels, Marcia and Dan, flowers from a bouquet my friend Deb gave me and a seashell with “Pop” written on it from Lia. For the finishing touch I added a piece palm from Palm Sunday. My dear neighbors gave me a snowball bloom from their bush because April and Carl knew Pop loved snow. I attached all the flowers to a piece of bark, holding them in place with peanut butter.

I arrived at the river about 10am and gently put the boat and snowball in the river and watched it float over the small rapids until it was out of sight.

As I sat on the bank a few tiny purple/blue butterflies fluttered past me. I didn’t see any larger ones but I did see something that I hadn’t seen in this spot the other times. There was a patch of purple flowers on the edge of the bank right where I put the boat in. Rich sent me flowers this trip instead of butterflies.

Since the little church in Cherokee isn’t open on weekdays, I took a short drive to Bryson City and went St. Joseph, the sister church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Cherokee. It was such a beautiful church on a hill and the inside was just as beautiful.

I headed back to Cherokee and made a stop at the Tattoo shop just to show the artist my next idea. It worked out perfectly, he had time to do it right then. I had Rich’s memorial boat tattooed on my right forearm, below where our Zodiac signs are.

One quick stop to the casino for dinner at Gordon Ramsay Food Market. That was Rich’s favorite spot to eat. I ordered the shrimp and fries and while having dinner I talked with Rich, letting him know how much I missed him but I always catch the signs that he sends to me. I left Cherokee about 5pm and arrived back home about 11:15pm. A short be beautiful trip thinking of all the memories we made in Cherokee and knowing that Rich may not be here physically but he is still with my spiritually.

Rich passed on Easter morning, March 31, 2024 and his service was April 5th. This year Easter was April 5th. I always hold these three dates forever in my heart along with my love for Rich.