Amy's 'momentary trouble'

I came awake to the sounds of footsteps upstairs and as I cleared the dust of dreams from my head and rubbed my eyes, I heard the excited voices of my children, ‘It’s Christmas! c’mon! c’mon!’ I heard them start to descend the stairs and I swung my legs out of bed…it was time…they were MORE than ready. As I was pulling on a pair of socks, I heard Vinny say ‘Whoa! Did you see all of that?!’ Hope came into my room and asked if I was coming and as I was slipping on a pair of shoes, I told her yes.
For the next two hours (yes, I said two hours), the kids un-wrapped their gifts. I think Trevor was the most excited because there were wrapped presents under the tree. In years past we had really never wrapped the gifts to our kids (Amy never really enjoyed wrapping very much, while I am a bit OCD about wrapping – pulled tight and edges creased), but instead laid them out in their own areas. I remember one of the first years we lived in Baraboo, we were going back to Iowa to celebrate with family and decided to have our own Christmas when we got back. Amy and I had set it up that we would get all of the kids out into the van and then told them that we needed to make sure we had everything for the trip. Once back in the house, Amy and I tore around and quickly laid all of the gifts out…it worked! When we got back from Iowa and the kids went in the house, they saw that ‘Santa’ had came and they were absolutely flabbergasted!...I digress…so, Trevor was very excited because about 90% of the presents were wrapped. Towards the end there were some family gifts that friends had given and one in particular was a very nice 3-panel Mahogany picture frame with the word ‘Family’ cut out of pewter at the top of the frame. The panels are vertical and in the center frame I saw some words, Trevor had the frame in his hands and so I asked him to read what was there. He got through the first two lines and his lip began to quiver. He tried to continue, but was unable to and he just put his head in his hands and cried. Brittany too tried to read what was there and while she made it through, she was difficult to understand through the sobs and crying. This is what was there:

Along the Golden Streets, my Mother walks tonight,
With wonder in her heart, faith blossomed into sight.
She walks and stops and stares, and walks and stops again.
Vistas of loveliness, beyond the dreams of men.
She who was feeble, weak, and shackled to her bed,
Now climbs the hills with light and easy tread –
She has escaped at last, life’s cruel clutch of pain;
Her lips shall never taste its bitter cup again.
Oh! Never call her dead, this buoyant one, and free,
Whose daily portion is delight and ecstasy!
She bows in speechless joy, before the feet of Him,
Whom, seeing not, she loved, while yet her sight was dim.
Along the Golden Streets, no stranger walks today,
But one who, long homesick, is Home at last to stay!

And while this and several other moments, brought back the stark reality that Amy is no longer with us here on Earth, this poem…these words, gives all of us a window into the glory that Amy is experiencing and knowing this gives me and the kids great peace!

For the love of Amy - V