November

November....well this month marks one year since I lost 3 important people in my life. Two of those people I had known all my life, my Aunt Mary Bennett and my Grandpa Jack, and the third person was someone I did not know for very long, but she was much like a sister that it just felt like I had known her forever.

My Aunt Mary was one spunky lady. She and Uncle Jack lived in LaPorte out in the country. I liked going there, the yard was enclosed by trees and it was a big yard. I remember going out there for Easter and sometimes in the summer. At Easter she would have a Lamb Cake with the marshmallow frosting, not my favorite, but I never complained and it made the holiday memorable for me. We would play in the basement on the slot machine! That was fun. My sisters and I are the youngest of the cousins. I remember watching the big cousins playing ATARI and watching MTV. When we moved into the house that my parents currently are living in, she would chase our dog, Bogart around the circle that was made through the kitchen, living room, dining room and the front hallway. It was fun to watch her having so much fun. She passed away after a long battle with Ovarian Cancer. STUPID CANCER!

Then about a week and a half later I lost my dear friend Miranda Mayes to Leukemia, again STUPID CANCER! Miranda and I met at Church. She was such a great person. She loved my kids like they were her own! And they loved her just as much. Miranda had an infectious smile that you were just attracted too. She fought her illness like a champion, Jason her husband was by her side the whole time, and was a rock. He is still a rock! Miranda was from Texas, she and Jason moved up here for Jason to attend ND for Engineering. She was taken home to Texas, where her family is. We had done a fundraiser for her when she was here to help with the medical bills, we bought t-shirts, it has taken me a long time to wear it, today I put it on for the first time. I miss my dear friend very much.

Five days later I lost my Grandpa. He was not sick, God had called him home in his sleep. He felt no pain, and was at peace. I knew that losing him would be one of the hardest times in my life, but did not expect so much loss in just a few weeks. Grandpa was an amazing and wonderful man. He loved the outdoors. He had a garden on the bank of the river by his condo every year, and tomatoes were always planted. When he lived on Leer St, he had a garden there too. I remember the Cactus that he had planted next to the garage, it had a face drawn on it. Grandpa was also a boatman. When we were little he had a boat up at Lake Michigan. That was always fun. The trip that I remember most was when we beached the boat and my mom got her foot stuck in the sand. When he moved from the house on Leer St he had a boat on the St Joe River. We would take rides on the river, I got to drive the boat then, of course I did get it stuck on a sand bar. The most memorable rides were the ones in the fall when the trees were changing colors. After I had Virginia and Rebekah in pre-school I took that time while they were at school to have lunch with Grandpa once a week. Those are days that I feel very lucky to have. We didn't always talk much, but I know that he enjoyed the lunch time just as much as I did, if not more so.
Grandpa was also a huge ND fan. He was an Usher for Notre Dame Football since the age of 16. He was a faithful fan. When he retired from ushering he still attended every home game that he could. I got to go the the infamous Miami vs ND game with him, we were in the student section, it was great fun.
Grandpa was a great son of God. He was a practicing Catholic. I however never completed the whole thing that goes with all that, he never looked down on me for that. I attended church just not the same kind he did. I think that he was just happy that I was going to church and taking my girls. When Tate and I joined our first church, Grandpa was there in full support, even though it was not a Catholic church. When we changed churches he was still proud of me, I took him to our new church one Sunday and I got to share communion with him- for me that was a great moment. I had never gotten to share in that with him before, and if I had at the other church we were attending it didn't mean as much then as it did when I shared it with him at our new church home.
When Grandpa passed it was a very rough time, I knew that he was in a better place watching over us, he was now in Heaven with Grandma dancing as angels do.

All three of these people were wonderful gifts from God, and they touched so many with their kindness and love that now lives in not only my heart, but also in everyone that they touched through out their lives no matter how short or long it was.

I love and miss all three of you!