Wasn't That Just Yesterday?

This week, as I have been going through pictures in preparation for Glenn's Celebration of life, I have often found myself thinking, 'wasn't that just yesterday?"

May 3, 1980

I mean Prom was May 3rd... oh wait, that was May 3rd 1980... how is that possible? That's so long ago, yet the memories of double dating with good friends is still fresh in many ways. 

Dec 27, 1981

We started at my house with the traditional barrage of pictures and then it was off to MonDesire Restaurant... wow that's been gone a while now too. Funny events during dinner conversation, and then hitting what was then the Holiday Inn for the Prom itself... hanging out with friends and dancing more to the records during the band breaks than to the band, cuz it was awful! LOL

The next day it was off to the lake for the day... to bad the weather was about 65 and not 85. -- Good Memories.

Staten Island Ferry Sept 1989

A mere year and a half later, we were getting married. I can say I have been truly blessed, I was married to my best friend for 31 years, 4 months and 7 days. We  laughed, played, and shared pretty much everything. About 2/3rds of the way into our first year of marriage we began going to church and learning to serve the Lord and never looked back. Keeping God at the center of our marriage got us through all the challenges that we faced over the years.

Christmas 99?

During that time we were blessed with the Lord trusting us with four children to raise. We weren't perfect parents- who is? However with the Lord to guide us we tried our best to do as Proverbs 22:6 instructs us and train them up in the way they should go. Raising them in the house of God, trying to be consistent in who we were (better at sometimes than others). We were consistent to be at church services and activities, as well as training the kids to serve in the Lord's house. Glenn primarily in Worship and the sound departments, and me in worship for years and then very much in the children's departments... weren't the kids in tiny tots just yesterday? Now they are grown, and still serving God. We have added two wonderful bonus children through marriage and they are now beginning the journey of training up their own children.

Hawaii 2004

Most of our vacations were to visit family or a 'cheap trip' to the Reno/Tahoe area. Hotels can be gotten cheap there, but we loved our trips to there... the drive was always filled with talk, something that, until the end of Glenn's journey, was always easy and plentiful. We took a couple 'big vacations' with the kids- Disneyland and Las Vegas but others were camping, but we enjoyed them all.  Our 23rd anniversary was spent in Hawaii, the first of a couple trips that we were blessed to take as pure vacations as a couple, it was amazing, fun and an adventure we enjoyed, has that really been 8 years ago? Hawaii was followed by two cruises to Mexico with our church family... again, memories and experiences that I am thankful for and will remember for many more years to come. When we went on any of these trips it was always- how can we maximize this for fun, our budget was generally maxed with the 'trip' part so spending was a minimum. We might choose one thing that we really wanted to do, but beyond that it was on the cheap; free activities, inexpensive souvenirs and our matching T-Shirts to drive the kids nuts. (Of course they were cheap too.)

Then the 'yesterday' that rocked our world... where we found out that Glenn was being attacked by cancer. Even in the face of that, we set ourselves to trust God and fight! Yes, now I am grieving the loss of my best friend- and truly my better half, but we got a year more that the medical community was ready to give him in March of 2012. During that year we went camping, made a couple trips to the coast, another favorite, saw the arrival of a new baby and the joyous news that our first grandson was coming. All these things brought great joy to Glenn and me. God also timed things out so we got one more full family time with all of the kids, before things made the big shift, allowing us one more family photo and some time to talk, and laugh and just hang out as family... again, memories I can cherish forever.

Now my best friend and love of my life has been gone 17 days, my heart aches but I am blessed... I have over 31 years of memories (over 33 if you go back to when we met) to comfort me and bring a smile. I have a family that in the time of crisis, came together- not apart. I have a new Grandson that I know, though never having met his 'Papa' will grow and follow the footsteps of him.

Yes, I am blessed... hurting and missing him, but yet, I am blessed and thankful to the Lord.