On a Lighter Note

Went to Kelley's Island with Mom and Staci on Monday - too cool - too much fun! How can you be bummed when you see pix like this? Plus we went over on the same ferry that a bunch of (I'm guessing on age here) Jr. High kids went on. They were headed over for a week of Camp - that brought back fond, fond memories of camps I went to at that age. Lutheran Memorial Camp, Stony Lake, and who can forget four awesome years of band camp at Lakeside - I Love Camp!

Life goes on

It's been another emotional few weeks. My Dad called last weekend and left a message on my phone. I knew right away something wasn't right. When I called back he told me my Aunt had passed away. It was so sudden that I couldn't grasp the whole thing. She hadn't ever been seriously sick that I could ever remember. She was always the rock that held everyone together. They live in North Dakota and we weren't able to make it to the memorial service, but I'm going to try to go with my folks to visit my Uncle and the rest of the family before the summer is over. I haven't seen them in far too long, but I have wonderful memories. My Aunt would write me often when I was in Iraq, telling stories of what was going on with the kids and grandkids, telling funny stories of the Kruse and Ingram Luck - or lack thereof. She is a woman full of more faith than just about anyone I know - that's a comfort. She would want us to celebrate life and look forward to the time when we'll all be together again. I'm trying very hard to do just that. My niece Staci is in town and I took Monday off of work, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with family this weekend. I love you Aunt Carol - you will be missed more than you could ever know!

Still A Lot to Be Thankful For . . .

. . . Freedom and Family. We had two family reunions over this past week or so. Unfortunately my camera batteries didn't last long enough, but I got a couple of good shots and many good stories :-)

Why

I really haven't felt much like posting lately. The whole blogging thing seems so insignificant when life throws a curve ball. We lost a great friend the other day and it still hasn't sunk in for me. Is it even proper or appropriate to write about such a loss? I don't know, but I do know that I can't think about anything else for a while. It seems so tragic - he was too young. He was one of the good guys. But what I love about him absolutely so much is his sense of humor and love of fun. He wouldn't want us all moping around - he'd want us to have a few drinks and remember the good times. And there were A LOT of good times! I will never forget when we went to the Browns game and he shoved an entire six pack of beer down my coat sleeves - I couldn't put my arms down - just like Randy on A Christmas Story . . . what a blast!

Trying to be ever the optimist is not always easy, especially in a situation like this. But I'm thankful that we had the time we did with him. I'm thankful he is in heaven and at peace. I will never forget you Denny - thank you for your Friendship - I will see you again!