Erinne Koehn

Welcome to our CaringBridge website.

The day started out full of hope and promise.  The sun was pushing back at old man winter with a particular fierceness and we knew and cheered it on.  Our morning worship service was spent listening to a missionary friend tell stories of two years in Africa.  We wondered at risks taken every day as he travelled through the country fixing water wells, and we marvelled at his bravery.  We ate our noon meal and the warmth of spring washed through us.


We listened.


“please mom”
“we’ll be careful dad”
“of course, I’ll look after them”
“yes, we’ll listen to her”
“youngest will sit between us”


We thought.


“have they gone this far before”
“they’re so excited”
“should all three of them go together”
“they’ll be ok”


And if we could go back, of course the answer would be different.  But we didn’t know.  We were caught in their excitement.  Of tiny streams, long overdue, rushing to our creek.  Of the roar of water like a bear hungry for his first spring feed.  Of the quest for a deeper puddle to splash through!


And now, the biggest question we ask ourselves.


“why no helmets”   
“WHY” 
“WHY”
As we stood there making plans, giving warnings, echoing promises, was there not one of us that remembered our helmet rule and said, “I’ll get the helmets”!  And we go over it in our minds again and again as we ponder their pleading for the first little ride of spring and we cannot answer. 


Fresh air, mud puddles, rushing water, warm breezes, hope and promise caught us in an intoxicating embrace and the world was theirs to explore on that marvelous spring day. 


Thank you to our sis-in-law Dolores for helping us put our thoughts in this story.


Our kids did go on to have an accident on this day, April 22, 2018.  Erinne was airlifted by STARS to Calgary and my boys went on ground ambulance to Calgary as well.