A BROTHER NEVER LEAVES YOUR HEART-REST IN PEACE CHARLIE

  

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY

my brother, Charlie,

walked into the hospital ER

because he wasn't feeling well.

On February 5th,  2013,

 4:04 pm he left the hospital.

He didn't leave the way we hoped,

nor the way we expected.

He went to a different home

then the one he left that last Tuesday.

He developed a very rare cancer

that affects less than 1% of

cancer patients.  It is fast moving

and there is less than a 1% chance

of survival.

I  struggled trying to figure

out why this has happened.

Then a peaceful thought came to me.

Our little granddaughter,

Anna Bella, 

needed an Uncle

to keep her company.

A great-uncle.

Great in more ways than one.

Wasn't he a cute little boy?

We knew that last morning that his

time to be with us was to be

short-lived.

They put him on a morphine drip

and he gently drifted away

without pain.

What you don't know about

my brother is that he was a 

joker-He loved to make

people laugh.

He was the "smiliest" person

I ever knew and he

dearly loved a good joke.

You know, even in moments of 

blinding pain there are

sparks of laughter,

After we said our good-byes and 

gave him permission to go "home",

we were all sobbing.

I told him: "You are so, so loved here

and Mom & Dad

and our grandparents and 

uncles and cousins and family

are all waiting for you-waiting to

welcome you to Heaven".

My sister-in-law added...

"And Snow White".

What? I asked.

Maybe you read a different

Bible then I do cuz I don't

think Snow White is in Heaven.

Everyone in the room erupted

in laughter.

In the burst of laughter

my brother, Charlie,

took his last breath of

life on this Earth.

We knew then that he 

was free to go because

in spite of our sadness

there was one last smile for him.

Snow White was Charlie's cat

that had passed over 

The Rainbow Bridge.

I'm betting that right now,

up in Heaven,

he is setting our little Anna Bella

up to some mischief

just like  I my father used to 

set him up.

He passed so-so peacefully,

with nary a complaint.

You did good, Charlie,

very, very good.

Now I feel like I have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

that watches over me.

As a family, we have moved on,

walking different paths than the ones 

we were on and that is okay.

Happy memories keep us company

on those days when we mourn

our earthly loss.

Take a moment today to 

tell someone you love them.

If there are rifts in your family,

mend them while you have time

for tomorrow is never guaranteed

and there are no "do-overs"

when death comes to visit.

Have a wonderful, blessed day.

I hope YOU have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

in your life!

 

REMEMBERING MY BROTHER, CHARLIE-----MISS YOU EVERY DAY

 NINE YEARS AGO TODAY

my brother, Charlie,

walked into the hospital ER

because he wasn't feeling well.

On February 5th,  2013,

 4:04 pm he left the hospital.

He didn't leave the way we hoped,

nor the way we expected.

He went to a different home

than the one he left that last Tuesday.

He developed a very rare cancer

that affects less than 1% of

cancer patients.  It is fast moving

and there is less than a 1% chance

of survival.

I  struggled trying to figure

out why this has happened.

Then a peaceful thought came to me.

Our little granddaughter,

Anna Bella, 

needed an Uncle

to keep her company.

A great-uncle.

Great in more ways than one.

Wasn't he a cute little boy?

We knew that last morning that his

time to be with us was to be

short-lived.

They put him on a morphine drip

and he gently drifted away

without pain.

What you don't know about

my brother is that he was a 

joker-He loved to make

people laugh.

He was the "smiliest" person

I ever knew and he

dearly loved a good joke.

You know, even in moments of 

blinding pain there are

sparks of laughter,

After we said our good-byes and 

gave him permission to go "home",

we were all sobbing.

I told him: "You are so, so loved here

and Mom & Dad

and our grandparents and 

uncles and cousins and family

are all waiting for you-waiting to

welcome you to Heaven".

My sister-in-law added...

"And Snow White".

What? I asked.

Maybe you read a different

Bible than I do cuz I don't

think Snow White is in Heaven.

Everyone in the room erupted

in laughter.

In the burst of laughter

my brother, Charlie,

took his last breath of

life on this Earth.

We knew then that he 

was free to go because

in spite of our sadness

there was one last smile for him.

I'm betting that right now,

up in Heaven,

he is setting our little Anna Bella

up to some mischief

just like  I my father used to 

set him up.

He passed so-so peacefully,

with nary a complaint.

You did good, Charlie,

very, very good.

Now I feel like I have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

that watches over me.

As a family, we have moved on,

walking different paths than the ones 

we were on and that is okay.

Happy memories keep us company

on those days when we mourn

our earthly loss.

Take a moment today to 

tell someone you love them.

If there are rifts in your family,

mend them while you have time

for tomorrow is never guaranteed

and there are no "do-overs"

when death comes to visit.

Have a wonderful, blessed day.

I hope YOU have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

in your life!

As I write this, my hubby's brother,

STEVE

is drifting towards heaven.

Please pray for a peaceful passing 

for him and comfort for his wife, Carol,

and siblings.

ps.  Snow White?  She was Charlie's cat.

REMEMBERING MY BROTHER -SMILING THROUGH THE HEARTACHE

Six years  ago this week

my brother, Charlie,

walked into the hospital ER

because he wasn't feeling well.

On February 5th,  2013,

 4:04 pm he left the hospital.

He didn't leave the way we hoped,

nor the way we expected.

He went to a different home

than the one he left that last Tuesday.

He developed a very rare cancer

that affects less than 1% of

cancer patients.  It is fast moving

and there is less than a 1% chance

of survival.

I  struggled trying to figure

out why this has happened.

Then a peaceful thought came to me.

Our little granddaughter,

Anna Bella,  who would be THIRTEEN now,

needed an Uncle

to keep her company.

A great-uncle.

Great in more ways than one.

Wasn't he a cute little boy?

We knew that last morning that his

time to be with us was to be

short-lived.

They put him on a morphine drip

and he gently drifted away

without pain.

What you don't know about

my brother is that he was a 

joker-He loved to make

people laugh.

He was the "smiliest" person

I ever knew and he

dearly loved a good joke.

You know, even in moments of 

blinding pain there are

sparks of laughter,

After we said our good-byes and 

gave him permission to go "home",

we were all sobbing.

I told him: "You are so, so loved here

and Mom & Dad

and our grandparents and 

uncles and cousins and family

are all waiting for you-waiting to

welcome you to Heaven".

My sister-in-law added...

"And Snow White".

What? I asked.

Maybe you read a different

Bible than I do cuz I don't

think Snow White is in Heaven.

Everyone in the room erupted

in laughter.

In the burst of laughter

my brother, Charlie,

took his last breath of

life on this Earth.

We knew then that he 

was free to go because

in spite of our sadness

there was one last smile for him.

I'm betting that right now,

up in Heaven,

he is setting our little Anna Bella

up to some mischief

just like  I my father used to 

set him up.

He passed so-so peacefully,

with nary a complaint.

You did good, Charlie,

very, very good.

Now I feel like I have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

that watches over me.

As a family, we have moved on,

walking different paths than the ones 

we were on and that is okay.

Happy memories keep us company

on those days when we mourn

our earthly loss.

Take a moment today to 

tell someone you love them.

If there are rifts in your family,

mend them while you have time

for tomorrow is never guaranteed

and there are no "do-overs"

when death comes to visit.

Have a wonderful, blessed day.

I hope YOU have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

in your life!

ps.  Snow White?  She was Charlie's cat.

REMEMBERING MY BROTHER CHARLIE---REST IN PEACE

I can't believe that it has been

FIVE YEARS

since my brother

CHARLES WILCOX

passed away.
You can read that story here

I remember him like this...
on the farm...
feeding the turkeys....
When he was older one year he
pumped them full of BBs to round them up.
My mother found out on
butchering day.
She sold turkeys to the nearby farmers
for Thanksgiving dinner-
but not THAT YEAR!  lol
So--the kid WASN'T perfect!

But then he grew up
and had a family...

Shown here with his beautiful daughter

Sarah and her baby.

He was just the nice guy that you thought

would always be there.

He was "that guy" that everyone liked-

kind and generous,

a good dad and all around good guy.

The phone would ring and he would say

"Hello, Sister Dearest"

That was his take-off of 

MOMMIE DEAREST

-don't ask-although 

 I never did hit him with 

coat hangers---

A ring with prongs?  Maybe!

So, today, I will think fond thoughts about him.

I will smile at some things 

and tear up at some memories.

I only had one sibling-my brother.

I was lucky because we were never estranged.

I just want to say that if you have a 

strained relationship with a family member

try to rectify it before it is too late

PROVIDING THEY 

ARE NOT CRAZY PEOPLE

because you never know when 

time might be up for you or them.

My brother went from  diagnosis to death

in a few hours and had never really been sick.

You just never know.

I hope you all have a beautiful day.

REMEMBERING MY BROTHER, CHARLIE

Four years ago February 4th,

 my daughter, Mimi,

and I were driving through a blinding snow storm

trying to reach Pennsylvania before 

my brother, Charlie,

went into surgery.

 He had gone in a couple of days prior and thought 

he had a bladder infection.

This is a man that was never sick a day in his life.

As it turned out, they never did do surgery.

He had gone from hale and hearty to

desperately ill in a few days time.

We got there late February 4th  and he was

very ill.

The dreaded words came from the doctor-

Stage Four Cancer.

Incurable.

Rare.

Fast moving.

No treatment available for this type of cancer.

He died the next day.

February 5th, 2013.

Even now it is surreal.

Even now I think I will pick up the phone 

and hear his 

half-laugh saying,

"Hello, Sister- Dearest"

(a take off on Mommy Dearest- don't ask)

Even now, I can hear him telling me 

how happy he was,

how much he loved the girl he had married,

how much he loved his children and grandchildren.

He was one of the kindest souls I have ever known.

Right after that Mimi invited me 

to spend a couple of days

with her and her boys 

while her hubby was out of town

I thought it was fitting to go.

And, as we mourned losing Charlie, 

we celebrated the fact

that she was carrying another little life around.

Another little girl to love.

Charlie loved Mimi.

She reminded him of our side of the family

with her curly red hair and her blue eyes.

He would have loved this baby, too.

This sweet little baby turned out to be our own little

Anna Ireland (Bright Eyes)

Rarely a day goes by that I don't

think about him and remember

something funny he said or did.

Missing you today, Charlie, 

but know I will see you again

someday.

You know where to look for me-

I'll be in the

not-quite-perfect corner.

Miss ya, buddy!