Fun Times: My Final 2011 Post

Well, another year is passing by. Needless to say 2011 has not been the best for our family. Lots of sadness and lots of changes for us.
Looking back I see~
in January - we had 4 snow days - those are always fun!
February brought bad news for my friend Sherry - her breast cancer had returned after 13 years.
Ella Carol was born on Mike's birthday - Feb. 11th.
March seems to have been a calm month - maybe the quiet before the storm. We did make a fun trip to KY to see Ella for the first time.
April 4th - as I was sitting on the playground I get the call from Carolyn. The call that some how you know one day you are going to get, but you are never ready for it. She said Mother had fallen during the night and Daddy had called 911 and took her to the hospital. I got there quickly and I did get to have some conversation with her. We joked and laughed as we always did. Her surgery went well and she even talked after it, but then her body slowly gave in. She did look up at me and she said, "this is the end isn't it" and we reassured her it was ok to leave us and we would take care of Daddy.
She died on April 8th. The rest of April and in to May was filled with taking care of Daddy. He was heart broken and had such a hard time without Mother.
Elyse graduated from UT in May with her masters. And luckily I finished up another year ~thanks to my friends and such a big thanks to Sarah who filled in for me. A sweet friend of mine Wendy King died of breast cancer. She was such a special person.
June came and Daddy seemed to be doing some better. We still didn't leave him much by himself. We all took turns staying with him and it was so sad to see him so broken.
Father's Day was a special time for us as that was the last time we spent with Daddy. He was happy, he enjoyed lunch and he loved all his silly presents. I'm so thankful for that day.
The very next day I get that same phone call. Daddy has gone to hospital. Elyse and I were having lunch in Knoxville so we just hop in the car and head to Kingsport. When we got there Daddy was in pain but knew we were there. He asked Elyse about her car and seemed to listen when we talked to him.
As the hours passed on he became more and more distance. They moved him to a room and by 2:30 that morning we were moving him to the ICU. They told me he was the sickest man in the hospital. Once again we all were there and we never left his side. He died June 25th. 78 days after Mother died.
Our lives changed forever this year.
July brought a new job for Elyse and a move for her. George Washington Elementary in Kingsport. Mother and Daddy would have loved having her up there. Daddy just knew she would get a good job.
August, September, October - another school year started- we all managed to get through day by day. We cleaned out Mother and Daddy's house and we did exactly what they said we would do , we laughed, we cried and we cussed.
November provided some of us with a road trip to Richmond. It was a fun trip. Thanksgiving was at my house and it was a good one.
December - An exciting thing~Windy graduated from LMU with her masters. Christmas was the challenge. All of us were always at Mother's and Daddy's. We managed to pull it off and even though it was completely different from anything we were ever use to, it was a wonderful time. We look back on the memories Mother and Daddy have left us with and we cherish all the time we got to have them. We know we are lucky and even though it is so painful we do feel truly blessed.

So... can I say that I'm glad this year is over. Who knows what 2012 will bring. I hope some good times and happiness for all.