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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Thinking of you, Jack.

My big brother, Jack, has been in my thoughts today. He's in my thoughts every day, of course, but especially today. He would have been 42 years old today had his life not been cut short by leukemia at the age of 33. We miss him so much. He died when Taylor was only 3 years old, but she says she remembers him. She has specific memories that she can relate to me. I love to hear them. And Skylar was just a baby at the time. He did get to hold her once. My youngest two never met him, but they will know him as I'm sure he knows them, already. They will know him through photos and through my memories. That's part of what we did today to celebrate him and his life, short as it was.

We went to McDonald's on the way home from a shopping trip. The kids got whatever, but I got a cheeseburger. A McDonald's cheeseburger was the last thing he ate, and he did enjoy them. So we went through the drivethru and sat in the van in the parking lot. We ate our dinner right there and thought of Jack. I told them stories of him as we ate. I tried to stick to the funny stories, the ones that make us laugh. He was a good guy, my big brother, and I want to make sure my children know that and remember it. I wish they could have met him and talked with him and felt his hugs. But that was not to be. So we will just thank God for the blessing he was and still is to us today as he watches over us........

Happy Birthday, Jack!
We love you!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
TTFN
~Tina

1 comment:

Grandma Jo said...

Love you, Tina! Thanks for this great tribute to your big brother. I know he is watching over you - esp you, for all you did for him near his last days. He loved you so much for that and I can still remember him asking me just how he could thank you - he just thought nothing he did or said would be enough. As you know, I told him just to say "thank you" to you which he did. You and he were then connected as no other as you had willingly given him your bone marrow and accepted all the risks that entailed. I'm sure that you thank God that having Jack as your brother was part of His plan for you as I am that He gave me Jack as my son. I'm sure he is watching over all of us now. God Bless us everyone. We all love you, Jack!