Explaining Blog Title

Please Note: This post is probably the most in-depth post I will make here. I want this place to be fun and light-lighthearted, but before we get there I thought it would be a good idea to explain why I chose, "With Flowers In Your Hair" for my blog title and what the quote means to me on the right sidebar...So here goes...

After The Storm-Mumford and Sons
Because death is just so full and man so small.
Well I'm scared of what's behind and what's before.
And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

His name was David Hanni. He was always there after school when I got home to ask me how my day was. He was 51 years old and the bravest person I'll ever know. Most of all, he was my dad. He passed away this last summer on my daughters fourth birthday.

The last time I saw him my family and mum were visiting him at the hospital. It was a beautiful warm summer's day which caused us to migrate quickly to the courtyard which was filled with blooming flowers and sunshine. I'll never forget the light of pride that graced his face as he watched my girls run barefoot in the grass amongst the flowers.

For anyone that has lost a parent, nothing can prepare you for the amount of heartbreak and grief that follows. I stand firm in my faith and my father's faith and I can rest in the peace because I know where he is and that he is out of pain. Yet, the grief can linger and creep up when you least expect it. I've had to pull over on the side of the road at times just to let it pass.

I discovered this song by Mumford and Sons soon after my dad's passing and to say it was therapeutic is an understatement. The lyrics resonated right to my soul and what I was going through at the time. Then as I thought more on the song, it became a really wise life lesson in general.

Here I'll dissect the last two lines:

1.Get over your hill: A "hill" can be anything you need to overcome in your life. Not just surviving, but getting over it requires overcoming. We all have our own personal "hills" and seasons in life...some are bigger than others. It's important to not only keep climbing and fighting, but to do it in a matter of grace and beauty.

2.See what you find there: Sometimes it's another hill (Which in my case it was. Soon after losing my dad our family went through a different kind of devastation). Other times it's a beautiful view. It's different for everyone and maybe you will only know and be able to relish it in. The important thing here is to keep going, to not give up, because there is a promise of beauty at the end.

3.With grace in your heart: Probably the most challenging line of all. How many people can say they came through hard times unscathed with their spirits in tact? We're human, it's addicting to start to victimize and feel sorry for ourselves. This line encourages me not to. To instead forge on, to learn and grow and focus on the beauty and positive in a situation. However, I'm not "Sally Sunshine" this part is hard and requires conscious effort, but it's something I strive for, a goal of sorts.

4.and flowers in your hair: This vision leads me to my hippie roots. It evokes a sense of peace and belonging. It serves as reminder to not spend time on negative energy and to continue to find the beauty in life, because that is what is worth fighting for.

This part of the song mirrors so well what I learned from my dad and the way he lived his life. He was a kidney dialysis patient and suffered most of his life, yet he was never one to complain or feel sorry for himself. He was the one that would crack the joke and get everyone laughing. To me that is beauty. To go through life with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

Whole song: