Jane is a Widow

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.

Barb today, she was in my wedding all those years ago. I sent her a picture, she said we looked so young, we did because we were. It’s nice connecting with friends from way back when. I’m getting ready to part with some of Troy’s things, such as a desk he re-finished, his mother’s cedar chest. I can’t take it all with me when I move, so it’s best to part with it now. There are memories attached to all of it, there always is. Memories are what makes us who we are, they shaped us. So I guess I will say goodbye to all those items from my past, but will keep the memories of them tucked away….

an old friend yesterday, sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I decided to put it back to use. After Troy passed, I started a journal. It was ever so helpful in my grief journey. Unless you have made this trek you know nothing about all the turmoil one suffers. You can’t begin to know unless you’ve walked in those shoes. So I’ve decided my journal helped me so much I want to continue sharing all that I’m feeling. At my age, I never know when my last day on this earth will be and if after my passing my journal offers understanding into what I experienced than it was worth taking the time to share. I want others to hopefully understand the pain I experienced when Troy passed but also the other pains I experienced as a result of his death. Losing Troy wasn’t the only thing I lost, it was just the beginning. Unfortunately you lose things and people you never thought you would. So onward with the renewal of my journal…….

I held my fathers hand as he took his last breath. I miss him so much. July 1995 was a very eventful month for our family. Troy had just started his new job at EDS on July 5th and we were living in an apartment that EDS had put us in. My brother and his family were on vacation and we were going to their house every day to take care of their dogs. I looked at their phone when we got there and there was a message from my parents neighbor that my Dad had a major stroke and was in the hospital. It was July 20 and they were due home from vacation that evening so we stayed at the house until they got home to give them the news. The next day EDS said they would fly me, my brother and his wife to Indiana to see my Dad. Troy would come up later with the kids. He was on life support when we got there and he started crying and pointing at the respirator. He wanted it taken off, so they did remove it. He lived until the 23rd. I was right there beside him holding his hand when he took his final breath. I was so thankful that I got to see him before he passed. He knew I was there, that was important to me too. I will miss you Dad forever…..

Troy today and how we never got to do all the things we wanted to. Makes me sad. He wanted to move somewhere where he could fish, he missed his fishing. So did I. But I guess that wasn’t in the plan. Life threw us a big surprise that would change everything. Don’t ever think you’ve got it all planned out cause life will throw you a big curve ball and show you exactly how it is and how it’s going to be…..

Through old cards and mementos. Troy was really good at getting the best cards, sometimes funny, sometimes serious. He was that way buying gifts too. He always came up with the best gifts. One Christmas we bought each other the same Starbucks coffee cup, that gave us a good laugh. His cards all say I Love You on them and I believe he did. He was a man of few words but he always meant what he said. I’m sure our daughter loves me too cause she’s always telling me she does….mementos always bring up feelings that we keep tucked in our heart…..sometimes good memories sometimes bad.