As I sit in my morning chair sipping coffee, I turn my gaze to the “bookshelf wall” in the hallway behind the leather sofa. On those shelves, of your design and built by my hand, sit a collection of books, pictures, photo albums, and other decorative items. All originally curated by you, but now somewhat cluttered and disorganized from random use and imprecise relocations and replacements of items.
Today, my attention is drawn to a collection of Lenox dolphin figurines in both crystal and fine bone China. One of your few extravagances, these represent a series of relatively expensive gifts given to you on holidays or special occasions such as wedding anniversaries over the years. You were never much for fancy jewelry or designer clothes; but you appreciated the artistry and craftsmanship of these pieces, and you enjoyed the accumulation of the collection.
You loved dolphins, not only for their beauty and grace of movement, but also for their playful energy and zest for life. The dolphin collection happened much earlier in our life together, before our time with horses. But it is interesting to note that they share some of the same qualities and appeal with the equines.
I can think of two occasions where you actually interacted with real dolphins in a tangible way. Once at Sea World in Orlando, you raised your hand to volunteer to go up with the trainer to feed a dolphin and actually received a kiss in return on the big screen for all to enjoy. The second time was in the Bahamas, when we went to a dolphin cove where we got to be in the water with them.
At some point we stopped adding to the dolphin collection. I’m not sure exactly when or why. But, in your pragmatic way, you just expressed to me that I shouldn’t get them anymore. Now that you are gone, I think you would want each of the girls to have one of these beautiful pieces for their own as an heirloom. I am glad that we collected a sufficient number for that purpose, plus one extra for me to keep. Perhaps that was your thinking all along.
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