Honoring those that are gone.......

and there are so many.

In the last year I have gone to too many funerals to mention....and most of them were too early and as a result of an accident or early illness. Is it fair? No absolutely not, and I hate it. It is hard for me to list all of them but recently the loss of Diane, Jim, Adam and Norm have really gotten under my skin.

First my Mom's best friend. The sweetest lady in the whole world who made my Mom happy and I know my Mom cared about so deeply. Diane got so (pardon my french) screwed out of seeing more of the wonderful things her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will accomplish. I truly enjoyed being around her. She was such a kind and gentle lady, but that woman knew how to have fun too. Her smile always made me smile!

Then there is Jim. Jimmy O always had some sort of plan with Ron. Those two, they were something when they starting chatting and don't EVER put them in a plane together :) His famous name for me? Scrap Iron.....in reference to our company Big Iron, I was Ron's little scrap Iron. That ALWAYS made me laugh. Hard. Really hard. The first time I heard it, Ron looked at me and said "That is such a cute name for you" I will never forget how there was just no way to say no to Jimmy O. If he pulled up in his boat.......your WERE going for a ride.

Then there was Adam. Why Adam. A bright, talented young man with a beautiful family and a little one on the way. That one just made me down right mad, almost bitter. I remember Adam stopping by late last summer on the rare occasion that we were actually in St. Ed and he was looking for Ron. We had the best little chat . There hardly wasn't a couple weeks that would go by that Ron wouldn't say to me "I talked to Adam Jarecki today" and there was always a good story or something interesting he learned from Adam. Ron had the utmost respect for that young man as did I. Adam made just a casual conversation fun.

And Finally, Norm. We actually conducted a Traditional Auction for Norm in Belleville Kansas. Shortly after that Norm started working for us as a Part-time Sales person. All I can say about Norm is that he had the most infectious and fun laugh ever! OK that is not ALL I can say about Norm. He always had a little hug for me. Greeted Ron like his best friend that he hadn't seen in 20 years even though it might have been the week before. Always made sure there was work getting done, but also enjoying every single minute of life. That is what I loved about Norm. He had the same thinking as Ron. "Work hard and play hard" I just can not imagine there being no Norm around. He was a special man and very special to me. He as one of my "surrogate Dad's" and a mighty fine one. (Side note: NO ONE could ever replace my Dad EVER!) but it was always nice to know there was an extra one if I needed one.

So with that...........this is my way of making myself feel better and get the sad crap off my chest because Norm would  NOT want me to be sad. Tomorrow is his funeral and I intend to remember Norm as the great man he was.

I found this little memorial stone and it is perfect. Norm was a huge Husker Fan living in Kansas.  :) and of course I now have another Angel watching over me.

The gifts for Deb from Ron and I........