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Light [the] Hill

It was all the names that did me in.
Sunday's Light [the] Hill luminaria "celebration of hope" at Kershaw Park was so much more impactful than I could had imagined. 
More than beautiful, more than sacred, more than a peaceful walk along the lake.
The half-mile stretch of 900 lights — each with a name carefully handwritten — was a silent testimony of lifetimes of love, family, hard work, service, personality and story. I was awed in the presence of all that living, all that dying, and all those precious relationships. 
When my dad passed last June, I knew it would take months for the reality to sink in. And it's starting to, a little, which is why it was so easy to appreciate the depth and breadth of the love that families were experiencing as they walked the length of the park, reading their loved  ones' names.
It felt good to smile and remember without doubling over in pain. It felt good to cry quiet, healing tears. 
So thank you, 900 luminarias and Light Hill, for allowing families to embrace their memories and absent loved ones in a somewhat tangible sense. 
What a gift you gave, and what an opportunity for the community to give back to you. 
Well done.



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