The bench is on the river’s edge
And she goes there when she needs to ruminate,
To pull together thoughts the day has brought,
Because she knows that he is there
A gentle hand upon her shoulder,
Protecting her despite
The fact that he is gone.
I don’t know about other people, but I love reading the dedications on benches that have been bought by families to remember loved ones by. I love to think that there is somebody who still comes and sits there every now and then, to sit and think about that person.
We visited Hunstanton in Norfolk for our summer holiday last year, and the town is just beautiful in the evening as the sun sets over the beach. Somebody had placed a bench on one of the green spaces and we sat on it to watch the sun go down. It was so serene, and I hoped that an old lady came along sometimes to remember her sweetheart.
I do have a friend whose dad has a bench and she goes there every year on his birthday, watches the sun come up and drinks a can of gin and tonic. It’s just a little bit of time that she can feel like she is with him, and I’m all for that.
I definitely want a bench when I go. Somewhere by some water where there are pretty sunrises or sunsets. Hopefully this is a long way in the future, but keep it in mind for me, will you?
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
It is nice to have a concrete way like that to remember someone who has passed. People often like to feel close to a missing friend or loved one, and I like that idea.
patientandkindlove
I think it’s lovely, especially if it’s in a place that was special to you both when they were alive.
Greg Dennison
I knew someone who was shot and killed in 2012. I’ve heard he was an innocent victim in a drive-by shooting, I’ve also heard it was a case of mistaken identity, but they never caught the murderer. I heard eventually that he got a bench dedicated to him on the campus of the university he attended (which was the rival school to my own, I’d been on that campus a few times before, but I didn’t know my way around). I was in that area once, and I decided to find the bench. I knew the name of the building the bench was near, but I didn’t know how to get there or anything, I just started walking around randomly… it’s a fairly good size campus, and I found it in about two minutes, almost as if I knew exactly where to go…
patientandkindlove
I heard a similar story about someone who was looking for a grave in Winchester Cathedral and they just felt this pull and ended up right in front of it. I feel that there are spirits that guide us in places like that.