A holiday visit to Gardens Aglow was supposed to be a happy time for the Boyd family of Greene, Maine. But it became another stop on their family’s emotional roller coaster ride for 2018.

Let me explain.

It all began a couple of years ago when their father, Lloyd Boyd Jr. discovered he had cancer and started a three and a half year battle with the disease.

“It got to the point in the summer of 2017 when he was in a wheelchair. One summer day, we drove down to Boothbay Harbor to cheer him up,” said his daughter, Megan.

“We sat on a picnic table and watched the harbor traffic. He wanted to take a boat ride but thought the vessel could not accommodate a passenger who used a wheelchair. Then he saw a lady in a chair board a tour boat and the family wheeled him to the dock and on to the boat,” said Megan.

“On the water, we saw seals and dolphins and islands. The water was calm, and he was so peaceful. We had a wonderful afternoon, as we wheeled him around to the Boothbay shops. Then we stopped on our way home at Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, where he had a lobster roll, fried clams, and onion rings. It was just a perfect day.”

A few months later, physicians said he had been cured, and the family rejoiced. But in October, he noticed the symptoms had returned. This time, the tests said it had spread throughout his system.

During his three and a half year-long battle with cancer, he and his family had spent weeks driving down to Boston for his treatment at both Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. After the latest diagnosis, Lloyd declined additional therapies. He said he was finished and just wanted to go home to die. “I can't blame him, at all,” said his daughter.

Last January, he passed on. As you can imagine, his death was tough on the Boyd family, that includes his widow, Debra, daughter Megan, her brother, Troy, and Megan’s twin sons, Levi and Liam.

On Saturday (Dec. 1), after seeing stories about the Boothbay Harbor Lights Festival, Megan convinced her mom and two boys to drive down for the festivities. They needed a break.

“Dad had loved the Harbor, and we thought it would be nice to revisit and think about him,” Megan said.

The family went to lunch, took a boat ride and for some reason, Debra noticed her husband’s photos popping up on her Apple watch. “We felt like he was with us,” Megan said.

After watching Santa arrive and viewing the lighted boat parade, the family decided to go to Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, and they jumped on the shuttle bus.

“Oh my gosh. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” said the daughter. “Mom was so excited, the lights were so bright and captivating that she took lots of photos.”

After some hot cocoa, they headed home for the night.

“We were leaving the Harbor when mom took off her gloves and noticed her wedding rings were missing. She said they must have come off when she took her gloves off to take pictures with her camera.”

As soon as she got home, Megan emailed the Gardens and the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce notifying them of the missing rings. They promised to keep a lookout for them.

On Sunday, Lesley Paxon, one of the Gardens' staff workers, was picking up the trash, when she noticed a ring on the ground. She pocketed it thinking it was part of a charm bracelet. Later she found out the Gardens’ staff had been asked to keep an eye out for a ring and she pulled it out of her pocket. When she told her co-workers she found a ring, some of them rushed out to where she had found the first ring. It didn’t take long for Sharmon Provan to find the second one.

“We were thrilled when they called. My brother, who works at Bath Iron Works, drove over to the Gardens on Monday and picked up a sealed envelope and brought it over to mom’s house,” said Megan.

The family gathered around their mother and handed her the envelope. She opened it up and her rings spilled out. “We all cried. It was so wonderful.”

As she related the story, she wanted to thank the staff at the Gardens and the Chamber of Commerce who had treated her family with concern and respect. Noted and done.

“This has been a very tough year for the Boyd family,” she said. “But this is a happy ending to a horrific year.”

Merry Christmas to all.