Our next destination is a meadow. We enter High Meadow trail. This must have once been a stream bed because we are walking on a lot of rounded rocks. Maybe it is, again, during the wet season. I make a mental note to check that out next spring when the snow melts off the mountain. On this trail we pass over a stone wall. There are lots of stone walls in town, created as farmers cleared their fields. Did people used to farm on this side of the mountain? It’s an intriguing thought. A few steps further and we reach that old gnarled tree. This morning I think of its age and of the fact that it will probably be here once I have left this world. The stone wall is here long after the farmers are gone, the tree will be here long after I am gone. These are the kind of thoughts that fill my mind this morning.

We finally reach the meadow. Birdsong fills the air and the birds flit from tree to tree. This meadow is overgrown now. There are trees and shrubs and tall grasses. But it is open compared to the path we were on. It’s a different sort of place than most of the wooded trails and it’s like a breath of fresh air. I thank God for the beauty he has shown me this morning. It is hard to remain sad when thoughts of God fill me. He brings thoughts of peace and comfort and joy. I relish the aliveness of this morning, knowing that my time on this earth is fleeting. One day I will join my aunt. Will someone walk along and mourn me? I hope that, if they do, God shows them that life is beautiful, eternity is a promise, and none of us need be sad.