Tuesday, December 22, 2009

A year ago today....

It's hard to believe it's been a year. It seems like yesterday. I remember VIVIDLY everything about Christmas last year. Melissa was SO happy to be home (at least to mom & dad's)...it was so good to have her home. Not easy, but good. She came home from Hospice with at least 13 different meds...took the first PILLS at 6 a.m., then 9, noon, 3, 6, 9. She NEVER complained. EVER. Loved having visitors (kind of quiet here this year)....LOVED having Drew here. He LOVED having Aunt Fort here - very curious about all the oxygen tubing... and Aunt Fort's oxygen mask...and the bed in the family room! I remember right after we got her home - I went upstairs for something. When I came back down to the family room - she was GONE. She was easy to find though. She was attached to about 45 feet of oxygen tubing. I followed the tubing to the basement, where she was just wandering around. I couldn't believe she could walk down the steps...I shouldn't have been surprised though. She was so happy just to be able to move around in familiar surroundings. Just checkin' everything out. OH how good it was to have her here. She really wanted to go to a Fairmont girls basketball game, but never made that. (I was so afraid she would get SICK... so many people out there with the FLU... OMG. The FLU? What in the world was I thinking. So when she said she wanted to go shopping, we went. Someone asked recently "what did she get you"...and when I read her post about the shopping trip, I realized she didn't say what she got us,just that "it was something that would benefit HER as well as us!"...She hated our computer monitor - wasn't big enough for her - so she bought us a moniter. She wheeled herself around Target and told me to "STAY AWAY"...I don't even think she let John help her - he just followed her around with the cart, letting her fill it. And Christmas Eve? We had fun watching Drew open his first present...and promised that "next year, I'm taking everything out of the boxes before I wrap them"....I loved the sound of that...Christmas NEXT year. And she said more than once "this is the BEST Christmas EVER."

And here we are. NEXT Christmas. It's hard to believe. A WHOLE year without her. I miss her voice, her LAUGHTER especially. We have so many WONDERFUL memories of that BEST CHRISTMAS EVER.

From our family to yours - we wish YOU the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER....

and of course, Fort would always end a post with the "cutest baby ever"....
now we have TWO of the cutest babies ever....

Aunt Fort helping Drew with a present...



Aunt Fort with Drew on Christmas Eve...



Drew - having fun a grandmas...a year later


Max - 4 mos.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours....

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

you said it all perfectly...I remember those small details so clearly. I am glad we got the time for those memories. I love you!
Ang

Anonymous said...

Beautifully written Pam. Very hard to believe a year has passed. I don't know how many times I've read her last post or looked at your beautiful family pictures from last Christmas. Take care...we're thinking of you!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, that was from me-Jami

Susie Q said...

I find myself thinking about Melissa so often of late...and of all of you.
This was beautifull written..
Love,
Sue

Sharon K said...

Melissa....an exceptional young woman! Her Mama.....an exceptional young woman! Thank you for sharing. My heart is with you. Love, hugs, and blessings Pam....
Sharon K

Anonymous said...

Beautifully written, Pam. We will always remember Melissa. I admired her so much and now that I have cancer I am even more amazed by her spirit.

KJ said...

Wow, I can't believe how much Max looks like Drew and how much Drew has changed! Thanks so much for the post. We miss her so much!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for that Pam. She is missed. It's funny though I think Drew the way he is holding his mouth looks a little like Fort. Hope you all had a great Christmas. She was with you; Im sure of it.

Lola said...

Thanks Pam! Fort truly was (and still is one in a million).

We miss her dearly. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Love,

Lola

Lisa Oakes said...

Thinking about you and your family.

Lisa Oakes