It has been an emotional ride this spring for us and our church family as we have bid farewell to some longtime members and true family friends. Since January we have lost two gentlemen and held celebrations of life for each.

Another member is now in a long-term care facility in Colorado near her daughter and another has moved to a Lincoln assisted living to be closer to hers. Still another, the girls' first piano teacher, died several months ago, and her family just had a household belongings sale Memorial Day weekend.

We helped with the cleanup of a condo and house for two of the families. With each load sorted and either packed away or set out for a garage sale, the heartstrings were severely tugged, as there were many memories associated with those items, not only for the family, but for those of us who knew them well.

Each family has contributed in a number of ways to our life's fabric and those memories have been carefully woven over the years. While the threads may have been snipped, others have joined that circle of our life and new threads are being added for more weaving.

One family arrived in Lexington just three months after I came to work at the newspaper and another shortly after Don and I were married. For almost 40 years they had been part of our lives and so many stories are interwoven with them and their families.

The day of the piano teacher's sale I stopped by to see if there was a memento or two I could find for my girls. The sons quietly ushered me back to their mom's music room and asked if I had time to go through and pullout books that might be useful at church. I was more than grateful for the opportunity to help in that small way and spent a good 45 minutes sifting and sorting yet again. By the time I had gone through the shelves and boxes of music I had almost overloaded a huge box.

The next Sunday I was able to have our new young pianist go through the books, and she excitedly picked out a number of the books, so she has new prelude and offering music to practice. Other service books went to the church's music library for future use. A few pieces of sheet music came home as keepsakes for the girls and one book for myself that I can plunk out a few tunes from time-to-time on our own piano.

Through their sharing our church musical fabric has been greatly enhanced and will continue to spread the notes of joy that Esther loved to share with her church family.

While my daughters may be a bit dismayed to discover I brought a number of items home from these sales, I assure you they were carefully considered and chosen and, in several cases, replaced items either lost or broken.

Their new chapter at my house includes a large plastic container that Marilyn and Charlie used to bring goodies to church for dinners, funerals and Christian Family Night. It replaces one of mine that disappeared following a CFN meal.

One of Sharon and Rich's flowerpots will grace my front steps this summer, after years of gracing their beautiful backyard. Finally, in addition to Esther's music books, I have two of her teapots and a cup identical to one I had broken. I have taken time to sip and savor from them while remembering all these dear people and the colorful additions they have made to the fabric of my life.