Kristen's Bridge

Our friends, Rod and Sandy, spent a good portion of the summer working on a water feature in their yard. No little water feature, mind you! A very impressive one complete with a bridge and everything! While we were at the hospital surrounded by friends and family on Kristen's last day, we were sharing how we were told to cross certain bridges as we get there, and not worry about them until we get there. There was a lot of uncertainty in our lives at that moment (as there still is 2 months later!) so we kept saying "we'll cross that bridge when we get there." What will we tell Katelynn? we'll cross that bridge when we get there. what will we do with Kristen's body? we'll cross that bridge when we get there. How do we tell people about Kristen since they're expecting "exciting news"? we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Unbeknown to us, during that conversation Rod's son Shaun mentioned to his dad the idea of dedicating their new bridge to Kristen. So when it was ready they invited us over for dinner along with another family that had been helping us through some of the tough stuff. I thought it was just for dinner, but as we were gathering in the kitchen, Rod asked if we had all walked across the bridge now that it was done. We said yes, but he suggested we all go out again and look at it one more time. I thought it was a little odd, but followed the crowd. Soon you could sense a tad bit of awkwardness as everyone was trying to fit on the bridge - not just walking across, they all knew why they were there, we didn't.
That was when Rod began sharing the story of how the idea to dedicate the bridge to Kristen came up. He then unwrapped a tall post that had been covered with plastic for the last week or two. It unveiled a beautiful plaque with a dedication to Kristen and the quote that has been used numerous times to celebrate her life. It was beautiful and completely unexpected! (just the night before I had joked at our bible study when someone asked why the post was covered, I said it was for the toll booth that was yet to be installed....little did I know!) Rod told us they wanted to offer a place for us to remember our daughter any time we wanted to.
I didn't realize what that would mean to me personally until we started our fall bible study at their house. I walk by the bridge every Monday night and every time I do I find myself saying in my heart "Hi sweetie!". Because we had Kristen cremated, we don't have a physical place to go to remember her like some do at a cemetery. But I do have a place that I can go when I need to "have a moment", and I can cross that bridge anytime I want.
Thank you Rod and Sandy.