Jane is a Widow

to our wonderful daughter, Ashley. Troy would be so proud of her. She’s a hard worker, treats people with kindness and has such a sweet personality. Love you Ashley, I hope your birthday is as awesome as you are…..💕

Sitting here watching the race and thinking about Troy. When we lived in Indiana he loved listening to it on the radio cause we couldn’t watch it on tv. It had to be sold out for us to watch it. When we moved to Texas he never missed watching it. We never missed Jim Nabors singing “Back Home Again In Indiana”, nobody can sing it like he did. I don’t recognize the drivers today, I remember the Andrettis, Unsers, etc. I remember the year Gordon Smiley was killed during the time trials. It definitely is “the greatest spectacle in racing”….

I was looking through some pictures of different places Troy and I visited. We bought a new Chevrolet Monza in 1980 and drove it to Virginia Beach. Needless to say I spent way too much time on the beach and suffered from a bad sunburn, lol. We went to the Worlds Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1982. That was an interesting trip. One of my favorite trips was to Nantucket and Provincetown. We also traveled to Jersey and walked along the Boardwalk and visited the casinos. I’m sure Troy’s favorite was our Vegas trip where we saw the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show. I looked over at Troy and he was in tears. He absolutely loved the show and he said it brought back many memories. These were just a few of our trips that have so many memories…..

Laura today talking about how ridiculous setting boundaries is. She said she found it quite humorous expecting someone to become who you want them to be, what you want them to think and if they don’t comply you refuse to be around them. Whatever happened to “be yourself”? What a dull world if we all believe and act the same way. Telling someone they are a bad person because they are different than you is putting yourself on a pedestal. Who put you in charge? I have lots of friends who think differently than me and I wouldn’t dare ask them to change. I accept them as they are. My in-laws were different than me but I loved them just the same. I would have never put demands on them to change. They weren’t bad people because they were different. Narcissists always try to control people. Tell them what to think, what to do, and who to like. Glad I’m not one……

Athena Strands family. Today justice was served for the death of this beautiful little girl. Last night the Judge lit up the courthouse in her favorite color pink. She was such a beautiful little girl that should still be here. My prayers and heart go out to her family. I can’t imagine the pain and grief they are enduring. She will never be forgotten, forever in our hearts…..Athena

Day is today. Please be understanding and kind to a widow. Unless you’ve been through it, you have no idea what it entails. There’s nothing like it, the pain after losing someone you built your life with. Your life is never the same. You have to find a way to move forward without your spouse. Be careful who you trust cause not everyone is in your corner….

50th Anniversary Troy. Wish you were here to enjoy it with me. I remember this day so well 50 years ago. Happiest day of my life. 50 years of memories to keep me company. Save me a seat until we meet again. ❤️

dinner was 50 years ago today. It was at Red Lobster, one of my father-in-laws favorite places to eat. We always went there for his birthday. He loved seafood. I had to leave work early because I started sneezing that morning and I couldn’t stop. I’m sure it was nerves. We had a great time at Red Lobster and I was so looking forward to the next day…..❤️

unable to find my friend Risa. Her Dad bought her a car when we started driving and she drove us everywhere. She took me to Laurel when Troy lived there with Dan Drysdale. We went there almost every weekend. He lived in an old farm house on a hill. It would take us about an hour to get there and it was out in the middle of nowhere. A fellow classmate told me that Risa passed away. I have been unable to locate her obituary. The last time I saw her was when I went to one of my high school reunions. We had some good times together. She got pregnant and married and we lost touch with each other. She’s an important part of my memories…..