Life is short!!

I'm going to try and do this post--I haven't felt like doing much since we returned from Minnesota. Life seems so fragile, so short. Roy's death and funeral has hit me hard--harder than I ever imagined (those damn bells). I've seen a side of Doyle that I never imagined (even through the death of his Dad). He is sad, depressed, and has cried more in the last couple of weeks than in all our married life. I'm sad for him, I can't imagine losing one of my brothers or sisters. And that opens another whole can of worms--I need to be a better sister to all my siblings. I get so wrapped up in my life that I seem to forget my "original" family. That's something I need to work on!!! Right now, life is sad, but I'm hoping we can get past this. Roy is in a better place, we both know this, but yet we are sad that he's not "here" anymore. That's selfish on our part--we can't expect to keep him here (in pain and suffering) for us. Time will heal our wounds, but it will take time.

Goodbye to Roy

Today we lost Doyle's brother, Roy. We found out in December that he had leukemia, and he's been fighting it since. He lived in Grapevine, Texas and he was 51 years old. We made a trip in December right before Christmas and visited him in the hospital. His spirits were fairly high, he was hoping to get out of the hospital as soon as they could get his "white" count up. But, he never left the hospital until Wednesday of this week. We made the trip again this past weekend, he had changed so much in those few short months. He was too thin, and he had lost his hair, but he was still able to laugh when his brothers and sisters talked about different times growing up. Then on Monday he just gave up, and stopped treatment, and on Wednesday he was transferred to Dennis' (Doyle's brother, that lives in Grapevine also) house on Hospice. Those that were there in his last couple of days say he was at peace, and no longer in pain. That's all we can hope for in the end.

Roy was a sweet soul. He never married, never had any children of his own. But he was the one that always had time to run and play with the kids when we would get together as a family. That is what I will remember most about him, his kindness and love for his nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Although he seemed harsh, and was definitely stubborn at times, he was really just a big kid at heart. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with him with him living in Texas and us here. Really what time we did get together was spent in Minnesota, but I will miss him.

Rest in Peace, Roy--we will see you again someday, Brother!!!!