Ok, so not an excellent start to my 365 promise... its been two weeks since my last post. I think I have a pretty decent excuse. I have been very busy. In an effort to "put myself out there" I decided to Chair my daughter's preschool book fair. There are two pretty remarkable things that you need to know in order to put this in perspective. First and foremost, I have never seen a book fair. I don't ever remember my grammar school doing a book fair as a child. Since this is E's first real school experience, we have never attended anything like this before. Second, since I don't have as many friends here yet, I did not have as many resources to draw upon for help with the Fair. It made things an interesting challenge.
I was very nervous and started out the week questioning whether or not I had enough volunteers. However, at the end of the week, when I had to leave South Carolina for an emergency, everyone jumped at the chance to be able to help. I had volunteers coming out of the woodwork and rushing to help in any way that they could. It really was a testament to how wonderful of a community we have moved into. I still don't know the outcome of the Book Fair and won't know our totals until I return to South Carolina. In light of everything else, it seems really inconsequential.
In order to explain, I think you need a little bit of background information. My husband doesn't have an abundance of family. Don't get me wrong; the family that he does have is wonderful and loving. It's just that because I come from a large family its very different to me. I guess somewhat in response to his lack of an extensive family, when he was in college, Mike made his own family. He is lucky enough to have a pretty amazing group of friends who I am proud that we can consider our other family. We have spent several holidays in the company of one or more of his brothers and their families. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together. Its a bond that they have held for somewhere around 15 years which makes it even more uncommon.
Unfortunately, earlier this week we received the devastating news that one of his brothers had passed on. There was no question, no hesitation, we immediately made the arrangements to drive 12 hours from Greenville, SC to Jamestown, NY...in the middle of a snow storm...through the mountains...with a 4 year old. ( I have to say-James and Sandy had it double rough- they made the same drive, but with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Talk about troupers!) I am not going to lie. It was a yucky drive, but that's what you do for your family.
I don't have the words to describe how sad this week has been. Josh was a brilliant man with a huge heart of gold. He will be very sorely missed. I can't even begin to imagine how distraught his twin brother, Jason, must feel. I do know that the rest of his brothers will do everything possible to be sure they help to ease his burden in any way that they can. The bond between this group of guys is completely amazing and hasn't waned no matter how far apart or close together we all live or how frequently or infrequently they speak. It's a bond that they have passed along to their spouses. Several of us have become very close friends.
I can only hope that our daughter will fondly remember her Uncle Josh and, through the stories she hears and the pictures she sees, will know what a wonderful addition he was to our family.
Rest in Peace, Josh.
XO
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