Sunday, September 25, 2005

One Year

I can’t believe that it has been a year. Tomorrow morning at 10:20am will mark exactly one year since Josh passed away. Some days I still have a hard time even believing it. One year ago today, I learned that my big brother wasn’t going to make it through the weekend. I think I speak for my whole family when I say that was the most painful weekend of my life, but at the same time, Josh’s pain ended…and he so deserved for that pain to end. We can take solace in the fact that he is truly cancer free.

What a year…in some ways it went quickly, in some ways it took a lifetime. I figure I can look at it one of two ways: one year further from the last time I saw Josh…or one year closer to the next time I will see him. Although I’m in no hurry for that time to come, at least I know that when I’m done here I will have the loving arms of my big brother to welcome me.

For Josh’s birthday on the 12th, we had a celebration of his life with the family to come together and remember Josh. When we told Jake about Daddy’s birthday, he said, “I guess we are going to have to throw the cake in the air!” So, that is what we did. We sent some cake to heaven tied to green balloons, so that Josh could have some, too. He never did get a chance to try any of Crystal’s oh so tasty and beautifully decorated cakes, but maybe now he did. That was a tough day, but Jake and Caily get us through each challenge with love and a smile. They miss their daddy. We talk about him a lot though, so they will always know what a loving father they have.





To celebrate Josh, tomorrow we will eat at Chilis. They are having a special day where they will donate all of their profits to fight childhood cancer through St. Jude’s children’s hospital. Go to www.chilis.com to find more details. It just seems like the most appropriate thing to do, and I know that Josh would be proud.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Happy Birthday, Josh

I'll post more another day.