Ann’s Rainbow

My sister Ann passed away from metastasized breast cancer two years ago today - Memorial Day 2011. She is very much missed every day by lots of people. A year ago, I wrote “A New Star Shining Brightly” in her memory. This year, I’m going to talk about her rainbow.

Late in June, 2011, we went up to Mount Tremper, NY for Ann’s memorial service. Our friend Bill came along for support, but with the full house, he elected to stay in a small motel in nearby Phoenicia. In the late afternoon, I gave him a ride over to the motel so that he could check in. After he put his things away in his motel room, we headed the three miles back to Mount Tremper and to Ann’s beloved home.

As we drove along and got part way back, Tremper Mountain loomed over the road and the small town. This mountain was prominent from my sister’s front yard, rising high above Esopus Creek, which flowed 200 feet from her house. Earlier that year, Ann had expressed her wish to see the mountain “turn green” one last time to me. It was visible from the window in her bedroom, where she spent the last few months of her life. And once spring began, I noted that the green was starting, first with a blush at the base of the mountain, and then gradually spreading up the mountain a little more with each visit. By late May, my last time to see her and just a week before her death, Tremper Mountain was entirely green.

From the highway, I glanced up at the top of the mountain as Bill and I drove along.  I was thinking about Ann, and how I wished that she had survived. The weather was a little unsettled, and there were lots of clouds near the top of the mountain. Then suddenly, it happened – a rainbow appeared! It looked as if one end of the rainbow was touching the top of Tremper Mountain. I looked in amazement, pointing it out to Bill. Just as suddenly, the rainbow was gone. It has been visible for less than 30 seconds. If I had not been where I was at that instant in time, I would never have seen it.

Now, I know very well that there are good scientific explanations, using the laws of physics, for why rainbows occur. But I will always believe that, somehow, this was Ann’s rainbow, and that I was meant to be in exactly the spot to see it as it reached over and softly touched the top of her much-loved mountain.