Ten whole years without him! So much life has happened since Mike left us on July 4th, 2016.
Our young adult children have matured into wonderful responsible adults in their forties who are doing a great job parenting their own children! He would be so proud!
We have four more beautiful granddaughters who never got to meet their grandpa. He would be so proud!
He took great delight in all of our grandkids! He would love how they’ve grown and how much joy they bring to life! He would be so proud!
I had moments of grief missing him at the high school graduation for our oldest grandchild a few weeks ago. He would be so very proud!
Multitudes of moments of absolute joy like that come and go as life keeps going on. He would be so proud!
He would have supported us in the moments of crisis, too. The horrible brain cancer and treatments, the scary heart surgery, the painful skin conditions, the damages from tornadoes and storms, the broken bones, the sicknesses, and all the growing up pains for his big and little people. He would have been right there to encourage, support, and give his valuable and trusted advice! We all miss him and his love so much!
But through all of our ups and downs of life in these ten years without him, God has been here right beside us. He has been so faithful to walk with us, hold us, and to hear our prayers. We are so grateful for those who’ve prayed for our family through these years!
We are so thankful for his healing touch so many times and his protection over us that is such a comfort.
Some people may think that this grief gets better with time. Some may think that being married again and trying to move forward helps a widow forget the pain and loss.
We never forget. It is always there. But, we slowly learn to just keep moving forward and carry the loss and love with us.
We have to keep moving forward to survive. We have to keep looking for the joy around us. That’s what Mike wanted me to do!
I am so grateful to have Bobby with me on this journey now. We try to help each other on this new journey that is often challenging. We each carry very full lives from the past.
It’s a wonderful and grand celebration this year for the 250th birthday of our country! Mike would be celebrating with his usual enthusiasm and his big friendly smile! He probably would have bought all kinds of things for our party! He was so proud of our country and of being a veteran who served with pride.
I spent a lot of moments yesterday reflecting on the last ten years. It is possible to feel sadness, joy, and thankfulness at the same time.
I loved talking to all my kids yesterday. So glad Bobby and I got to have fun celebrating freedom with my son and his family last night!
So thankful God has been with my family and me these last ten years! So glad He holds our life and we can continue to trust Him.