Monday - Sad Day

On the evening of Saturday April 2nd, my son Bret called me and told me he had some bad news about someone in my neighborhood and asked me if I was sitting down, which I was.  My first thought was of my young neighbor Kyle that maybe he had been in a wreck.  He has had a couple of accidents and maybe that is why that thought popped into my mind.  Instead it was a friend who lives around the corner on the street behind us, Julie Kirk. 

Her husband has terminal colon cancer, and a neighbor had taken him for a jeep ride. They do this to lift his spirits and to take his mind off his cancer. When they got home, Malcolm went into the house and the first thing he noticed was that Julie wasn't up.  He went into their bedroom and found her dead.  What a shock!!!! to put it mildly.  Julie had just turned 45 on February 27th.  They have four boys, three who are grown and two are on missions.  The youngest Pierce is only 9 and is still at home.  The good thing is that he was gone on an outing with the school that dark day. Julie's mother who lives next door was gone on a trip too.  Poor Malcolm was alone, but I am sure the neighbors rallied around him as soon as they found out. My heart aches for the family and especially Pierce.  I have seen the interaction between him and his Mom at church.  Julie was always hugging him and you could see the love between them. I don't know how much longer Malcolm will live, but I can't stand the thought of poor little Pierce losing not only his mother but his father too.

My personal opinion is that Julie had been under so much stress with her husband's illness, and had gained a lot of weight-----she was a stress eater------I think she had a stroke or a heart attack.  At this time I haven't heard what the cause of death was. I think that she was so busy taking care of everybody else that she didn't listen to her body symptoms, etc. and the outcome wasn't good.  The only good thing about her death was how she went.....in her sleep.  That is the way I want to go.  Don't we all?

I will miss Julie and her bright smile, her cute personality, her hugs and the way she brightened a room when she walked in.  I am still in disbelief that she is gone and I won't be seeing her around the neighborhood, and church.  Her funeral was really nice, and she had many friends and family there.

After the funeral, I met Sherry, Renee and Rozlynn at The Scoop.  Once again I forgot my camera.  Rozlynn is so dang cute and could warp me around her finger in a minute.  I took her for a little walk and I should say a little run because that is what she does is run.  I don't think she knows how to walk slow. 

Renee is having a tough time right now and I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everything right for her, but unfortunately that isn't how life is. All I can do is pray for her.