Hello all,
I’m back. Fort Walton Beach, Florida was beautiful. The Gulf of Mexico beauty is indescribable, and I cringe to think what this oil spill is doing to it. Luckily (for us anyway) the oil remained 70+ miles away while we were there. Thank you God, David or whomever responsible for our unusual luck. I just pray this issue is resolved and the aftermath isn’t too bad and causes minimal damage. What a shame!
The trip was nice. I’d love to say it was great. I feel a bit selfish not thoroughly “loving” it. I just couldn’t. I tried very hard. My mom and dad have treated me to nice vacations all my life. It is very important to them. I admire how they choose to live their lives financially so that such vacations are always feasible. It’s very admirable especially in this economy. This was the first vacation in 12 years David wasn’t by my side. I missed him everywhere and in everything that we did. Simple things like selecting from a menu were torturous. I could not stop my mind from wondering what he’d order. What beer he’d be drinking. I missed watching his big size 13’s leave enormous foot prints in the sand, applying SPF 50 sunscreen to his pale freckly body, and the UK bucket hat…oh that hat… He NEVER went to the beach without that hat. Nothing is the same, and it will never be.
Sunday was the worst. My poor momma tried so hard to disguise her tears, but it was her first mother’s day without her “son” as she will forever refer to him as. They had this amazing relationship. Don’t get me wrong, it started out shaky. Mom was strict. If you lived in her house you abided by her rules. It did not matter that I was 19 years old. If I was to be home at 12, you best have me home by 12. David and I HATED that. Remember – Dave was 3 years and 2 weeks (to be exact) older than me. We BOTH thought she was just being ridiculous. But, with age comes wisdom and it wasn’t long before we both understood and respected her motives. She kept us both out of trouble, and we both are/were forever grateful. Mom is the “Boss” but David was “The Chief”. I cannot remember when/where this lingo came from, but it stuck. Whenever Lauren (my little sister) or I needed/wanted something, we always went to Dave and asked him to do the asking for us. That guaranteed the “YES”. Man we are going to miss that.
Sunday was difficult for me too. Every mother’s day from years past always held a little hope with it that someday someone would be celebrating me as their mother. This year as I watched all the cute families (parents about my age) playing at the beach somehow brought closure to that whole idea for me. That hurt almost as bad as the pain of knowing David will never be that great dad we all knew he would be. So – I go on. It can always be worse, right?!? Of course it can.
And so, I’m home. I was greeted by two very happy dogs. That is always a good feeling. The best came as I opened the backdoor to let them out. There it was – David’s tree!!!! He would call it Quercus phellos. Otherwise known as a Willow Oak to you and me. =) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_phellos It is HUGE and beautiful. It is perfectly placed in the backyard David loved so much. It is mulched so nicely just as the rest of my landscaped areas. I truly have the best friends in the word. Thank you again Jason, Jeremy, Don, and Clark! Of course the yard looks beautiful as well. You guys are awesome and I will NEVER forget how amazing you all were to David. I cry every time I hear this song because I think of you guys and how wonderful you were to him in seeing that through his brutal illness he could still enjoy one of his favorite things in the world – hunting. Please never stop telling me those stories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1KtScrqtbc Again, thank you guys for taking such good care of me. I know Dave is so relieved/thankful from heaven. That is such a good feeling.
With love,
Amy
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