Bonnie & Verne

- July 19th 2011

Almost 90 years old, Verne passed peacefully

if unexpectedly in his sleep,

on their recently acquired Tempurpedic mattress,

it took years to convince them to treat themselves to.

Their last exchange was "I love you."

 Happily married for over 60 years, since 1950,

Verne would go wherever Bonnie would go.

Real partners in life they looked out for each other.

At the ripe age of 82, both, they decided to design

and to build a new green, solar home, closer to downtown.

Bonnie would water her plants with rain water.

Shovel snow in the winter

and then wonder why she ached.

They took their brand new bed frame in to the living room

where Bonnie simply sawed off those legs to proper height.

Mind you most in their eighties barely move, much less saw!

They got around in Prius,
but to drive when one might walk

 was not part of their equation.

Why waste precious gas and money?

Rather use the ski poles to hike up a steep trail

to the dog park and gorgeous views, right behind their home.

Here an exhausted Bonnie had just brought home Tia-Maria,

rescued from the shelter, a 4 hour ordeal, only 2 years ago.

Tia was 1 of 50 dogs
found in horrid conditions inside a hoarder's home. 

Surprisingly, Tia-Maria has excellent social skills.

 They bonded quickly,

despite a belief of being 'big-dog-folks'.

Today, Bonnie and Tia-Maria will board a plane

to live closer to family,

They are so blessed to have each other now.

I miss them already terribly.

I adored the couple,

but I trust that Bonnie has good years still ahead of her.

Bonnie's independent spirit will survive 

and I sure hope thrive.