RIP, Tom Martin

Look! I finally got onto the blog to post. I hope it works! I've had problems all day with my Internet connection and ATT is shipping a new modem to me tomorrow. I had called Trish and asked her to post for me; she meant to post after she ran. I tried one more time and got to connect. Wow. Technology is wild!

This is a picture I took last week of Gracie skipping THREE of the loop! She is an awesome little monkey; she can readily skip one and two loops, but she had to really get going to skip THREE! There is Raynie down on the right admiring her success. I can't believe I actually caught it! Fun, fun memories. They were busy playing, so they didn't notice I had to cry. I had never been to this park without Don, who held them up to reach these monkey rings and bars. They can all get up there by themselves, now, except for Raynie and Gabe held her up to do the swinging. Man, every direction I turn, I miss Don. Folks do their best to help me, but the grief seems to get bigger, not smaller.

Ruthie wrote today that our good friend, [whose mother-in-law (Dot) and wife (Jane) are ardent viewers and posters on this blog] Tom Martin, had a heart attack and passed away today! Tom was about my age, give or take a year or two. He and Jane had their annual trip to Branson scheduled for November 2, I think. He was a healthy guy. It's another wake up call, folks. Life is not anything we can count on. God we can count on. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know that God is there to receive us when we die and he's also here to help us who survive. RIP, precious Tom. God be with you, Jane, Dot and Frances. (Dot is staying with her sister, Frances, during this time; Jane dropped her off there as she headed home to be with Tom as soon as she learned of his heart attack. Jane moved to Tennessee to help take care of her mom and dad after she retired. Her dad passed away a couple of months ago. Tom had stayed in Indiana to help look after his mom, who is 92. Jane and Tom commuted back and forth to spend time with each other.)

I thought old age was bad, but I'm learning that it's even worse than bad. Losing loved ones is just too awful. Please, please hug the people you love and savor every moment with them. Don't wait. Do it, now.