Last week’s newsletter wasn’t the hardest, this week’s is. I feel lost in front of my computer, what do I write about?  My entire life has been turned upside down. Don and Thora, Nigel’s parents, flew back to England on Monday.  They were with me for the past 5 weeks, by my side every step of the way, giving me the chance to continue running the farm while they sat with Nigel.  They made countless cups of tea, washed dishes, cooked food, did daily loads of laundry. Together we learned how to care for the dying, thingsnone of us would ever want to know.  This has been a tragic journey for them.  Originally they were booked to fly home Sunday, July 2nd.  Nigel left up leaving us that Saturday, so they changed their flight and then asked me what kind of service or remembrance I was planning on.  

My plan has always been to hold a memorial next summer close to Nigel’s beloved solstice and our wedding anniversary, so I hadn’t thought about a small gathering that would happen now. I realized they were right, we had to do something. I thought we could put together something small; the crew, us, the immediate family here, a few close friends.  Then I was thinking about how important all of you have been to Nigel and maybe I should just let the CSA know and if they want to come up great.  I was reminded that the CSA alone could be a couple thousand people, so I quickly realized that wasn’t a good idea.  Putting the small list together jumped to 200 people almost immediately, and I can assure you, there were many important people I forgot and many more we just couldn’t invite. But that was Nigel– he was a man who touched so many lives, making a “small” list was simply impossible.

It was a beautiful day with many close friends. We got to hear a lot of great Nigel stories.  This was one event I didn’t cook for at all, from start to finish.  Thank you Paige for feeding us all weekend.  It was nicer than I could have imagine, having that task so lovingly taken off my “plate”.  And thank you Lizzie for putting the beautiful flowers together, such a gorgeous representation of the beauty Nigel has created around our farm.  And Jan, thank youfor managing the pit. Our future promises some excellent kalua pork, cooked in Nigel’s banana leaves.

Truly there are many people to thank, including Ms. Amie Bailey for all the delicious Humphry Slocombe ice cream, always Nigel’s favorite food group, and Annie and George for the pork, Nigel’s second favorite food group.  

Many donations have come in for the Care Share fund. Thank you all for your generosity. I am encouraged that we will turn this into a beautiful way to honor Nigel’s life work. A big part of this project is finding the best ways to get our healthy food to those who need it. Perhaps a working with some clinics or specific practitioners who could accept boxes to give to patients who could benefit from a share might be an option. If you have any ideas please let me know.