♥ And our story continues.......

This was Thanksgiving Day 2009. It was also the day before Rick's 62 birthday and 3 days after the tumor was found. We had high hopes for beating that tumor. We were at my parents house. This is the same house they were in in 1984 when Rick asked my parent's permission to marry me. A lot has gone on in that house.

I did not grow up in that house. They built it one year after I moved out. I told them I thought it was not nice to build after I move out. They did build me a bedroom there, though I never lived in it. All 3 brothers did live there, though Greg only about a year or so, he married Jeffrey's mother and moved into town in Brownsville. Jeffrey was born a year or two later. When I think of going 'home', I think of going to Stockholm. I grew up right beside the church. When the new owners of the property tore down the house I grew up in, I cried. It was like losing part of your past. If you may recall from an earlier post Rick and I had owned that land for about 3 or 4 years before selling it.

I remember when Jeffrey was about 4 or so, Teddy Ruxpin came out. If you remember, Teddy Ruxpin was a teddy bear that was slightly animated. he would 'read' from a book different stories that were on cassette. His eyes and mouth would move as he read. He still has that bear!
His favorite aunt got him that bear for his birthday.

Thinking back, when he was born, he was very late and his mom had been in the hospital. Finally he arrived. He had a little breathing trouble. You wouldn't be able to tell it now though. When I first started seeing Rick, Rick became an imaginary friend to Jeffrey. He would talk to him and 'play' with him when no one else was around. Kids know when someone is a good person. They have an instinct that adults sometimes don't have.

When we moved to Massachusetts, Jeff quit talking. He would only whisper to his mom and dad. He would not talk in school. Later, when he started talking again we found out he was mad that we moved away. He now has a baby boy, Thomas Ryan James born July 21, 2009. He married Ashley Raymer about four years ago. They still seem so very happy. I hope that continues for them.

Even though today has basically been a good day, I still have times during the days that all I can think about is Rick. I will think that I need to ask him about something, then I am reminded of the fact he is gone. Sometimes I will hear his voice from another room. I guess it happens to everyone. He would say "Myra" and I would say "Rick" back at him. Sometimes he wouldn't finish his sentence for several minutes. That seemed to be worse in the months preceding the finding of the tumor.

Summer is nearly here by the calendar. It is already here by temperature. We always used to have a family get together on Sunday around the 4th of July. Sometimes it was on the day, sometimes either a week before or after....depended on my work schedule. We would take the tractor and wagon, load it up with food and people and head to Tommy's creek. It was so much fun. Some would get in the water, most would not. One year, Rick and his brother Lester went out on the four wheeler through the woods. They left all the girls and kids at the creek. I had driven the tractor a few times but never without Rick. We decided we wanted to leave. We loaded up and I hopped in the driver's seat, got it started and we made it back to the house without tearing up the tractor or wagon! When Rick and Lester made it back, they said 'how'd y'all get out?' I said, 'I drove it out!' They said 'no, really, how'd you get out?' Debbie said, 'really she drove us out' I got on the tractor and showed them! Oops, now he knew I could drive it. I did on occasion help him out until he sold the John Deere, I never learned to drive the Case.

Talking about that made me remember a story about when we lived in Massachusetts. There was an area in town where we lived that "rented" out garden plots and we had not one but two. He had so much stuff planted. One day, he asked me to go hoe it out for him. I did and when he got home we went to see it. He re-hoed every row. That hurt my feelings. I had done a good job and had the blistered hands to prove it; but evidently he didn't agree. I told him I would never touch another hoe to anything in his garden. And I never did. And I don't regret it either!

I love you all.

To be continued........