Hawks, crosses, pictures last forever

Today I had to meet my sister in Murfreesboro,Tn. to pick up pictures that were taken Thanksgiving, of our children. We are giving them as presents to family members. My daughter made me promise not to look at them as she wants me to be really surprised on Christmas morning. As I drove along the interstate I spotted a hawk sitting in a tree looking for a field mouse or whatever was on the field menu for his lunch. I took a quick glance at the hawk and as I brought my eyes back down to the road I spotted the four white crosses placed beside the road. Two large crosses and two smaller crosses. Of course we know this means four people died at this spot, most likely the result of a terrible crash. Somewhere, some family is incomplete this Christmas. There are members who will not be present around the tree. Who knows it may have been an entire family. As I pondered over the thoughts I was reminded of the hawk. Sitting, waiting patiently for his next meal. Searching the fields over for an unsuspecting creature who could be his next meal. The beauty of the hawk in the tree and the somberness of the four crosses by the road. The hawk can glide for miles on the current of the wind and I am sure his wings take him over this spot many times a day. As I traveled back home with the pictures I thought about the faces and ages of my children frozen on the picture paper. I will look over their features time after time. I will see the braces that will be gone when the next picture is taken. My son's longer hair style and my daughter's layered look. I will frame them and place them carefully over my mantel with the others. The hawk will sit in the trees soaring over the land and the four crosses burn a picture in my heart, a mother who cherishes the real, live faces waiting at home, and the pictures in the box beside her.