I Get the Blues

I feel like I should apologize for being absent, but on the other hand, life’s been a little awful, a bit complicated for a couple of months.

To begin with, TJ brought home a puppy. He said she was his. (LOL) She is mostly his, but babies still need a lot of night-time care that we two old people have to share. Sleepless nights, etc.

Then the puppy, named Gracie Marie, got Parvo. Fortunately, there’s a treatment!!! The treatment is monoclonal antibodies! Gracie improved rapidly in about one week after the IV injection. I read a little about this. They are looking at this for Covid 19 & maybe even cancer. If the treatment works, maybe cancer will be eradicated in our lifetime!

Additionally & most importantly, my sweet brother-in-law, Bob went to be with Jesus almost five weeks ago now. The combination of lack of sleep with the grief has set me back in a lot of things… like writing blogs. I’ve been grieving for my sister, Susan; grieving for Bob, struggling with too much sometimes.

So many prayers have been answered over the last 5-6 years of Bob being sick with dementia. He slowly lost his ability to form words, then his strength to walk alone, then to eat or use his hands much. BUT when Jesus took him home, he slipped quietly away in gentleness and peace. Susan cared for Bob at home the entire time, almost entirely on her own. Friday Harbor is an island. Home healthcare is just short of impossible, & impossibly expensive. We live almost 2000 miles away. Coming to help with our own family, animals, my weird health, and home to care for hasn’t been a viable option. Just that makes me sad.

Now we are here for Bob’s Celebration of Life/funeral. If you think of me at all, turn your thoughts to Susan. She’s missing Bob very deeply right now.

Here’s my eulogy for my brother, Bob:

Sven was interviewing Ole for a position with his company.  He wanted to find out something about Ole’s personality, so Sven asked him, “If you could have a conversation with any person, living or dead, who would that be?”
 Ole quickly responded, “The living one.” 

Bob loved Ole jokes… But I digress.

I have to say I laughed so hard watching Ben Stiller quote the “Day by Day” song in the movie Meet the Parents. The scene was so incredibly awkward, which made the scene hilarious.

Living in the Day by Day is also so incredibly awkward, funny, & also painful, occasionally. You move along in the normal(ish), working, playing, living, then a tragedy occurs.

The tragedy is that TJ’s & my brother-in-law, Bob died. He was my sister, Susan’s husband for 22 years. We got to know Bob pretty well. He was the sweetest, funniest guy. You always know a good guy when you find out how much they love their mother, btw. Bob loved his mother. He also loved Susan.

When we found out he wanted to marry Susan, my mom & I both said, “What? Why would you marry her?” Later, we found out Bob’s family more or less said the same thing, but to Susan… “What? Why would you marry him?” It turns out, Bob & Susan were a match made in heaven. Everyone except the two of them, were wrong. Everyone. They needed to be married to one another. They accomplished the until death do us part of the thing. Sometimes life was rough, but mostly over time, the two were Bob & Susan. He, his sweet, funny self. Susan, her kind, spinning self. They balanced one another.

Sadly, Susan has to go into a new phase of life without Bob. This means she won’t be with him here on this plane of existence. She will grieve, be sad, & miss him, sometimes beyond belief. But Bob is free from those earthly bonds of illness. Susan knows that.

So Day by Day we go forward. We know God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit, care about Bob & Susan. They care about each one of us, individually, but also They have a plan so much bigger than anyone of us. When you walk in the remembrance that God is infinite, that He knows all things, & that all things work together for our good, we are comforted, even when the situation doesn’t feel comfortable at the time. So. Good bye, Bob. Until we meet again in heaven, I love you.