Friday, July 24, 2015

The emotional roller coaster of life...

This summer has been an emotional roller coaster for me. Since school let out, we have lost two young people in the same way I lost my Lauren.

First it was a beautiful little girl named Katie and then a handsome young man named Dustin. I didn't know either of these young people personally, but I know their parents' grief. My heart breaks when I see that news come across  Facebook.

I always write to the parents. I have to. People who had experienced our loss reached out to us. I think it is only right that I do the same.

On the other side of the coin, we had a wonderful family visit in Las Vegas two weeks ago. It was our granddaughter Rosemary's first plane flight, and her first time to meet her Grandpa's big Italian family. She met her Great Great Aunt Mary, who is one of the oldest in our family. Since her great grandparents are gone, it was good that Aunt Mary was able to see her.  She was a real trouper and did a wonderful job for only being 10 months old. She made her Mimi very proud and happy.

My husband was with all three of his siblings for the first time since their father's death. Their spouses and children were also with us. Our cousins from Calif. came to meet Rosie and spend time with us. We ate a lot of good food and had a lot of laughs and there were lots of family stories repeated and shared. One of the best things for me was attending mass at the Cathedral with my little family and our cousins, Jodie and Frances.

We went to a very special wedding last weekend, and will be going to another tomorrow.  The one last weekend was one of Lauren's first little friends, Jessica. She and Jessica went to the same after school day care. Jessica is always so happy to see us when we run across her anywhere. She is such a sweet girl, and made a spectacularly beautiful bride.

Tomorrow we will go to Ashley's wedding. Her family and our family have been friends since we came to Mississippi. We tailgate with her parents every fall. Ashley is such a wonderful girl, with a very loving heart. We are so excited to be a part of these young people's happy days.

As we approach fall, there are elections coming up here in Mississippi and football season is around the corner. For now we will enjoy the dog days of summer, grilling on our patio, and spending time with friends. We look forward to celebrating our Rosie's first birthday in September.

Family Photo in Vegas! Almost everybody was there!