Saying Goodbye

We lost a loved one February 25th and this post is in honor of Ralph Spain.

Ralph was our Sunday School Teacher and a wonderful, wise man. Cora and I would attend Sunday School together, but I had recently decided in February that she would cut back her attendance to once a month and the first Sunday of every month. With Cora becoming mobile and crawling, it was becoming challenging to keep her occupied without interrupting the class and taking away from all the knowledge and wisdom Ralph had to share (in my opinion). Everyone said they loved having Cora in the class, but I was losing out in my spiritual gain because I was so busy with Cora. Our class consisted of Ralph, his wife Dot, Gerry, Mimi, myself, Cora and occasionally Ralph's granddaughter Dorothy. It was a wonderful group and something that I looked forward to each week. I am not a morning person, but I wanted to make it to church because I felt like I was letting Ralph down, and myself for that matter, by not attending. He was always prepared for class and went above and beyond in helping each one of us on our Christian journey.

He was kind, thoughtful, patient, funny, smart, family oriented, hard working, dedicated and lived each day to its fullest, knowing that the next day is never guaranteed. I know that Ralph is in heaven and that it was not easy to leave Dot and his family behind. He will be watching over his family from above and will see them all again. Ralph has a very special place in my heart, touched my soul and he will definitely live on through both Cora and I. I can only hope that Ralph knew how important he was to me, because I am not sure I ever came out and said how thankful and blessed I felt to call him a friend.

Below is a picture from Cora's baptism at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This was November 2016 and our Sunday School class along with family and friends were in attendance. I am grateful that I captured this picture and will cherish the visual memory and enjoy sharing it with Cora as she grows up. She will know all about the one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable Ralph Spain.

I'll post Cora's 10 month check-up a separate post, because I do not was to take away from honoring the life of our beloved Ralph. "I'll be seeing you".