I had the great honor of meeting Jim Plank 11 years ago when Jenna and I first became roommates. Over the next five years while Jenna and I lived together, he and his wife Sue were common visitors. Since my own parents lived out of town, I always looked forward to their visits. It felt so much homier in our sparsely-decorated house when they were there.
Over the past 11-13 years, they have attended many of our important life milestones - graduations, house-warming parties, Corrado Fests, weddings and even celebrations of some of our children. One example of their selflessness and generosity - they sent us a gift for Tristan even while Jim was going through the hardest part this summer. Just another reason why we needed to be there for Jenna and her family.
Jim had a heart transpant 12 years ago. This new heart gave him 12 more years of life. It's hard to believe that he never would have been in our lives had it not been for his new heart. This amazing procedure not only gave him quite a few more years with his family, but it also allowed all of us college friends to meet him. Had it not been for this, so many people would have missed out on knowing him.
Jenna and her family planned a beautiful celebration of life for Jim on Sunday. It took place outdoor, at a beautiful property owned by one of his friends. Many people got up and spoke about what an amazing person he was. I had never been to this kind of memorial service before, but it really seemed to compliment Jim's love for life. It was an amazing day that taught me what love, life and relationships are all about.
The beautiful setting at Jim's memorial
The day/night before we went to his memorial service, we decided to take Ali up on her offer and stay at her family's condo in Squaw Valley. This used to be a common vacation spot among our friends for quite a few years. And Dresel and I even lived in Squaw for two summers while working at a summer camp in Truckee. Here we shared a job, a car, a room and even a bed! (Loooong story - it would take it's own blog to explain all the craziness of those two summers :) Sadly, I hadn't been back in close to four years. We are so grateful that we were able to stay a night in our old stomping grounds - so many memories!
Even though the main reason we were down there was to celebrate Jim's life, we had originally wanted to surprise Jenna by coming down, which meant we'd be staying in a different location Saturday night, thus taking Ali up on her Squaw offer. Even though she ended up finding out, we decided to stick with the original plan, in part because (as Lyndsey so eloquently put it) it was also a celebration that so many of us were able to leave families/jobs behind for an entire weekend. It doesn't happen as often as it used to!
Of course we had to pack in as much as we could into the limited time we had that day! Here are some pics of a last minute wine tasting detour, wine bar in Squaw and beautiful Lake Tahoe. It turned out to be a pretty amazing trip!
Wine tasting at Vina Castrellana
At a wine bar in Squaw Valley
Picture perfect day at Squaw!!
Driving to Placerville for the service, we stopped at Emerald Bay for a photo opp - what a beautiful day for our drive!
Even though it was hard to be away from my Little Man all weekend for the first time, I am so glad I was able to be there for a friend when she needed us the most.
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