Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Dear God,

I called him Chief. One time while dictating a letter to me, he was toying with a rubber band. Inadvertently, the band went flying, striking me in the eye. I dropped my steno pad and pen, bringing my hands to my eye, tears flowing down my face. He felt so badly but didn't know what to say.

When I told the Chief that I was quitting my secretarial job after three and a half years because I would soon give birth to my first child, he was disappointed. A couple weeks later he hired a young 18 year old chick (I was 22) who complained about the manual typewriter I had used my whole career. I loved that machine and told the Chief that this girl would never love it like I did. At my "retirement" party he handed me the machine as a gift.

I loved this man, a sales manager of a local construction company. I loved his family. I knew two of his three sons whom I knew working at the same company. I was friends with his older son when we lived in northern Indiana. His middle son was a member of our church. I married one of Bob's (Chief) granddaughters to a fine fellow in Texas. I did the memorial service for his 18 year old grandson who died of a brain aneurysm. Our families have been woven together throughout the years.

Bob's wife died of cancer on December 22 after a two month diagnosis. When Bob, who had been put in a nursing home about a year ago because of dementia, was told of Betty's death, his family watched the color drain from his face, life fade from his body. Three days later Bob died. A real love story. Their caskets are beside one another. I bid them both goodbye while his family and I all hugged one another. Bob would have been pleased we were together.

Several years ago I brought the Gerows and Hughes/Leiningers together at a picnic at our home. My mother and dad came. Daddy was suffering with Alzheimer's but knew Bob and was able to talk with him a bit. My uncle (my father's identical twin) and aunt came too. My father and uncle both worked with Bob and me at Reid-Holcomb, a now defunct company. We laughed as we brought to mind some silly stories, crazy antics in the office. It was the last time we were all together. Now Mom and Dad, Bob and Betty are gone. I miss them all.

Some people make a mark on your life. You don't really know it at the time but they do. Bob made a mark on me. He etched a place on my heart. His family are fine people and they will carry their own marks with them long after the burial of their mother and father. I will always remember him.

God of the Cosmos,
your plan for life and death
becomes more of a reality
as each day passes.
We are not designed
to live forever;
we are formed,
however,
to live a good life,
with purpose.
The people you weave
into our lives
shape and reshape us
throughout the years.
As long as we are open
to the moulding,
we can get better with age.
Thank you
for Bob and Betty,
for the love
they shared between them,
for the model they were,
for the ways
in which they exhibited love and friendship.
Thank you
for that etched place.

Love always, Andrea