Remembering......

There are some catch-up posts that I have been meaning to post, but this post has been weighing on my mind for a few days now. So, finally I decided to stop procrastinating and write it; though, I know I'm going to cry....

There has been a status going around on Facebook that made me stop and think. "Think about someone special in your life who has passed, someone who has touched your life and made a difference. Honor that person, copy this message and post it in your status. Remind yourself and others that as long as we remember, they will live in our hearts forever." My mind immediately turned to two women that have touched my life in the greatest of ways, one that I knew for the first 16 years of my life and one that I never knew, but still feel her loss.

The first is my Grandmother (maternal), Ruth. She was an amazing woman and I will never forget her. She was one of my best and dearest friends growing up. She would take me out and let me pretend to tan! I was very young!! She would get down on the floor to play Barbies with me. At 12 or 13, she introduced me to my first Harlequin Romance books! My mom wasn't happy about that AT ALL!! (But, I still have her copy of the first one that I ever read!) She used to celebrate Christmas (and most other holidays) with the best!! Everyone (her kids, kids-in-law, grandkids, and great-grandkids) would get at least one present! Oh, and the decorations!! Trust me, I remember! My younger sister and I were the ones that came over and helped her decorate and take down after each holiday! She used to pay the two of us to come clean up for her. My Grandmother made Christmas, CHRISTMAS!! But, my Grandmother was so much more than those things. She was my best friend, my confidante, one of my greatest heroes and a woman like no other! I spent most of my younger childhood taking it for granted, that she would always be there. It wasn't until I was 13 or 14, that her health really started going downhill and I began to realize that she wasn't as unbreakable as I thought. She had Diabetes, Parkinsons, and Alzheimer's. It got to where we couldn't leave her alone. When my Grandfather had to go somewhere, somebody had to come stay. She passed away less than a month after I turned 16 on a Wednesday, on April 19, 2000. I remember the Thursday before she passed. She had gotten to feeling better, it seemed. My Grandfather had been invited to a cookout, and had asked me to come stay with her for a few hours, even offered to pay me. I agreed to staying, but declined the money. It didn't feel right getting paid to stay with my Grandmother. But, it's not that, that made the night memorable. It was while I was there with her. She got up and went in the kitchen. I gave her a minute and followed her. By the time I got halfway across the kitchen, she was headed back. And, for the first time in MONTHS, she opened her arms first to give me a hug. Of course, I flew into them, and she told me that she loved me. Then, the following Wednesday, she was GONE. My hero, my best friend and one of the greatest ladies that I've ever known, was GONE. I was heart-broken and still miss her everyday. And, I wish that my son had had the chance to know her as I did. I love you, Grandma.

The next woman that touched my life, like I said, is one that I never knew. She is my Mother-in-Law, Barbara. I only know what I've been told of her, but just from that, knowing the impact that she made on those around her, and knowing the kids that she raised, I know she was an AMAZING woman. She was the wife of a police officer (who became a police chief). She was the mother of three boys and one girl. She was the mother of twins. And, she was a woman that everyone that knew her loved! Her and my father-in-law (A great man, himself.) had two boys, (Jody, then JimEd) and then had their twins, a boy (My husband, Jud) and a girl (My sister-in-law, Jamye). My MIL and FIL raised their kids to be wonderful people. But, for this post, I give the credit to the woman that I never had the chance to meet. She raised my husband to be a wonderful man that followed his father into law enforcement, a wonderful husband that I fall more in love with everyday, and to be an amazing father. My MIL raised my sister-in-law, Jamye, (who is more like a sister) to be a woman who is a great wife, a wonderful mother, and a true friend. She raised my brother-in-law, JimEd, to be a great man that also followed in his father's footsteps into law enforcement, a wonderful husband and an amazing father. My MIL raised my brother-in-law, Jody, to be very protective over his siblings and their dad. My MIL was an amazing woman that I never got to meet or to know a lot about, but raised her children to be wonderful people, amazing parents, and the greatest of friends. In doing this, she touched my life more than I could ever define. She touched the lives of those around her more than I could ever imagine, but that caused ripples that, then, touched my life. Thanks to my MIL, I have met a man that is an Amazingly wonderful husband and an even better (if you can imagine that) father, and a woman that is one of my best friends and someone that I can turn to and depend on! Thank you, Mrs. Barbara for raising an amazing family that I am SO thankful to part of. And, between Jud, Jamye and I, your grandson will know all about you! I wish more than anything that Wesley and I could have truly known you.

These are the two women that have touched my lives in completely unimaginable ways that are no longer with us.