Don't quite know if I should do this or even which section to put it in but here goes, Last week at the gathering my son, a friend and I were sitting round the fire at our camp. The kids and our other friend had been asleep for a while. We'd had a good day and were back at the site having a few beers and chatting about the days events and what we were going to do tomorrow. Then, at 1-49am on the 19th of August I received a phone call to say my wife of 40 years had died. To say I was shocked is an understatement of the highest order as her death was totally unexpected. I spent the next few hours in a sort of trance walking round the campsite listening to the chatter and watching the clouds. Once daylight broke I roused the guys and we broke camp then made the journey of 330 miles back home. That journey was the longest and most harrowing of my life. Her funeral is tomorrow and the grief is still an open wound that I feel will never heal.
looking back to that night I think that being in the woods was a help at the time and the serenity of the night helped through those long hours till daybreak. God forbid if I had been at an airport or on holiday at the time. I was with my son, grandkids and friends who continue to support me throughout this time. I suppose what I am trying to say is that my love of the woods has helped me and I plan on going out again today. I feel that I have a stronger relationship with nature now and apart from being by her side at the time, there is no other place I would rather have been. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be using bushcraft for a form of counselling, but life deals some strange cards. For anyone who reads this spare a thought for my wife, Dianne, the brightest star that ever shone.
looking back to that night I think that being in the woods was a help at the time and the serenity of the night helped through those long hours till daybreak. God forbid if I had been at an airport or on holiday at the time. I was with my son, grandkids and friends who continue to support me throughout this time. I suppose what I am trying to say is that my love of the woods has helped me and I plan on going out again today. I feel that I have a stronger relationship with nature now and apart from being by her side at the time, there is no other place I would rather have been. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be using bushcraft for a form of counselling, but life deals some strange cards. For anyone who reads this spare a thought for my wife, Dianne, the brightest star that ever shone.
