HOPE

Yesterday my sister and I went shopping. Actually, I needed to make some payments but we did a little shopping too. Now that our kids are all grown up and we have some time it seems like we do more things together. My sister was a school teacher for thirty years and I was a stay at home mom, so we had different lives. We were both super busy, just different kinds of busy. While we were out and about we got a call from a cousin inviting us to a little get together with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Carl Turley. They have been here for a week and the cousins all wanted to get some dinner and visit. They were in the military and so they have lived all over the U.S., while we have all lived in Arizona. We have a lot of fun with them as they are easy to talk to and SO non judgemental. Their first child was stillborn, so they have had an experience with the death of a child. My cousins Jim and Stephanie also lost a son to leukemia, so they have had their own heartache. As I was telling them my feelings on Kamber, I could see in their eyes the knowledge that they truly understand what we are going through. I told them that I don't seem to be able to put this adversity to rest. My heart feels like it has a deep dark hole right in the middle of it. My aunt then said, "you know Teri, it's been almost fifty- eight years and I still haven't gotten over it, you never will." It seems like life is hard for everyone. The other night Rich said, "it seems like our lives are just trial after trial, and in his work all he does is solve problems on every job. I don't know how he deals with the stress, I would have given up long ago. I'm thankful that he just keeps plugging along with all the responsibilities of running a business and serving in the church. I feel like our lives are blessed because of his sacrifice. I'm convinced that all we have is hope that we will be with our loved ones on the other side when that time comes.