Author: janep38

to Thanksgiving and memories of years past has been creeping into my thoughts. I miss those years past. Our families would get together and celebrate the holiday by eating lots of turkey and dressing and playing cards. My Dad always fried potatoes, he fried the best potatoes, I miss that. We were all very different but that didn’t matter, we didn’t care who someone voted for or what they believed in. We sure didn’t throw anyone out, we all came together to celebrate and enjoy. It’s not like that now, people throw you out if you don’t believe what they believe. There are a lot of bullies and narcissists. But Karma eventually takes care of all of that. I’m thankful that our families put aside any differences we had and enjoyed fellowship with each other. It has left me with wonderful memories of great times with family. I miss you all…..

makes me think of my father in law. His birthday some years fell on Thanksgiving, and the year he passed was a few days after Thanksgiving. He was such a good man, good father, husband and father in law. He treated me like a daughter, I remember telling him how much I loved him a few days before he died. He was a gruff man but would give anyone the shirt off his back. I remember Troy telling me about how his father had accidentally hit a man with his car and the man died. I never heard him talk about it but I’m sure he never forgot it. He was so thrilled with Ashley, she would crawl across the floor and he would talk to her. Sadly, he died when she was so young she doesn’t remember him. He would be proud of her just like I know Troy would be. She’s grown into a kind person. She’s a hard worker, Troy devoted so much time to his family. He would be sad to know how some have turned on me but that’s ok. I just forgive and move on. We both devoted our lives to working and raising our children and its good to know that at least one of them is thankful. Troy was a very hard worker devoted to his family. He always put them first. Happy Heavenly Birthday John. I’ll never forget you……

October is the most colorful month in Indiana, I miss all those pretty leaves that fall in the autumn. October was also a month of losses for me. In 2015 on October 3 I lost my favorite aunt who treated me like a daughter. She used to say I don’t have any children so I’ll just call you my daughter. I miss her, we talked weekly and wrote letters back and forth. The last time Troy and I visited her she was showing signs of dementia. She slowly lost her sense of who she was. It was sad to watch. No more phone calls, no more letters. I was always trying to get her to move down here, I always told her that we had a room just for her. But she had lived most of her life in Indiana, and she didn’t want to leave. I have wonderful memories of her. Then in October of 2017 I lost my Sadie, she and Lucy kept me going after Troy died. If it hadn’t been for them I wouldn’t have made it. They barked at me to get up every morning. I just lost Lucy in December 2023. They will never be forgotten, they were there for me no matter what. Don’t always think you can count on people, cause you can’t. They let you down every time. And sometimes you think you really no someone but you really don’t. Even someone you lived with the majority of your life. Don’t count on anyone. You’ll just get hurt…..

people to start being kinder to each other and stop spewing the hate. I was thinking about Troy, how he always liked everyone. He didn’t care what political party they were or how they believed. He liked them for being kind, he was kind and that was what he expected of others. I think back to growing up and I wonder how we got to this point, so much hate. The 70’s were all about love and I wish so much we could do that again. Join hands no matter what your belief, just show each other love. Let’s try it…..

a letter I received in 2022. I shared it with my good friend and she said if I were you I would share this letter with everyone you know. Send it to all of your family, all of your friends. Share it with Troy’s family too and all the people he used to work with. She said put it out there everywhere. I’m friends with a lot of his classmates. I think I may take her up on her advice……She was really good friends with Troy and me.

birthday Troy. Hard to believe you would be 74 today. We would be going out to our favorite Mexican restaurant El Matador. I miss going there, but then again there are a lot of things I miss. Little things happen that cause one of many million memories to come to mind. I’ll never run out of memories that’s for sure. And that’s a good thing, we need our memories to keep our heart alive. They give us comfort when needed, they make us laugh and sometimes they makes us sad but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I just came across a picture of you and Sadie in the pool, I hope her and Lucy are keeping you company. Give them a hug from me, and save me a seat. Love you…..

look at some RV’s this week. I have a widowed friend who got remarried and sold her house and is traveling in a RV now. Looks like a lot of fun. I’ve had several people interested in buying my house. This is just another opportunity to look at. I really want to take a trip up north to visit some friends. I talked with Thea Ann tonight and we had some good laughs about our days at church camp. Those were the good old days we just didn’t realize it. It’s fun to look back on good old days. A thought just came to mind, Troy loved me just the way I am, so why would I ever want to change…..

Troy’s birthday, that’s when a lot of memories come to mind. His Mom and
Dad would take us to Red Lobster for his birthday. His Dad loved seafood. That’s why their freezer was always full of crappie and blue gill that they caught at Lake Cumberland. His Mom fried the best fish. I miss her fried chicken, dumplings, and fried fish. Nobody could fry chicken like she did, it was the best. And her dumplings were right up there too. They would catch all those fish at Lake Cumberland and then she would filet them all. I remember her catching a big turtle that she ended up frying for us. I really didn’t care for the turtle, lol. But after you lose people there are things about them you really miss, things you will never have again. Troy’s chili was something I miss, and I really miss the way he always smiled no matter what, even when he was fighting cancer. He always kept a positive attitude and never complained. All I can say is I miss him, I always will too…..thanks for the memories.