Sunday, July 17, 2011

Hey Laura

Hello Darlings...

I have been a lazy blogger again...and I WILL get back to the stuff you usually visit here for very soon...but today I want to honor a friend...a very special woman who lost her battle to cancer but will forever be a winner as a mom to those of us who knew her.

Her name was Laura...

And she was, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and most special woman I have ever had the pleasure to know.

We lost her on July 4.

When I first learned of her passing I thought "how tragic that it happened on a holiday".

But the priest who headed her funeral service opened my eyes to just how perfect that day was.

He called it (I can't remember his exact words so I am paraphrasing her) her day of freedom...freedom from the cancer that had held her back.

She declared her independence that day...how very very perfect.

Now that being said, it kills me that she passed. Because in a perfect world she would still be here mothering her children, loving her husband, and sharing her beautiful laugh with those of us that loved her.

She had the most beautiful blue eyes...and so do her children. So I know when I look into their eyes, I am seeing her eyes...

And she had a devastating smile...it totally lit up her face and it would light up the darkest of rooms and lift the saddest of spirits when you saw it. I mean when she smiled...she SMILED! I loved her smile...and I will miss it...along with her laugh.

I didn't know her as well as I would have liked to...her son was in Ke$ha Barbie's class so I knew her as a fellow mom but I instantly loved her. Her illness never stood in the way of her being a friend to anyone who was happy to call her one.

I know her sons quite well. I'm particularly close to her oldest 2 boys.

They are...amazing...just like her...

I don't usually use names but I'm gonna here...cause I don't want to be too cute when I am honoring someone who was so special.

Joey (as I call him...but he's grown up and is "Joseph" now...but he will always be my Joey) is one of my favorite kids...ever...

That child owns my heart...and all he has to do it look at me with his big blue eyes and I am happy...because I see his mama there...but I also see the amazing boy he is. That child never fails to lend me a hand...or give me a great big hug when I need one. I love to watch him wrestle...he is the sweetest boy but on that wrestling mat he is the fiercest of competitors. I took a lot of photos of him wrestling (and playing lacrosse) so that Laura could see how amazing he was...she was often not feeling well enough to watch him so I was her eyes...and I was happy to be the loving mother arms to hug him after he did well. I have promised to continue to be his "mama by the mat" as he goes through high school. It will make me a nervous wreck (wrestling always does) but I will do it for her...and for him because when you have just basically gone to war in hand-to-hand combat with another boy it is nice to have a mom to come off the mat and hug who will tell you that you are awesome.

And I will...because he is...he is awesome.

I love that child as much as I can love a child who is not my own...and I will claim his as mine anytime he lets me...

And then there is Sweet Sam...I have always referred to him as Sweet Sam. He has grown up to be the most gorgeous of men...and I do mean gorgeous. I told him he should model the other day. He has those amazing blue eyes too. He is a truly incredible young man. I almost can't find the words to describe him...and he is as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside...just like his siblings.

I told Sam that I knew he was in a difficult position...he is the oldest. He will feel great responsibility to help take care of his family. But he will also be a senior in high school---a year his mother very much wanted to share with him. A very special year of his life. So I told him to let us (his mother's friends) share the burden and help his dad...and for him to enjoy his senior year. He is such a fine young man that I know that even though we are all around he will still more than step up to help and care for his younger siblings. But I also pray that he finds plenty of time to enjoy all that being a senior in high school brings. And I will be there for him as much as he needs me. I can never be or replace his mom....but I can be a special friend that cheers him on as he moves towards adulthood.

And I love him like he is my own...because he is a great and awesome young man.

And then there's Max...gotta love that Max-man! He makes me laugh...he makes me smile. He is a "mini-me" of his dad and he is adorable. I can't wait to see him turn out as amazing as his brothers. He has a sweet spirit to him but enough silly little boy still left in him that when I see him I see fun...

And then there's Amelia. I don't know her....she hasn't been at my son's school but this coming year she will be a student. I plan to get to know her as well as her brothers...because there is no way in the world she isn't as special as they are...

Laura was an incredible mom. If I could be half the mom she was I will be amazing...she was amazing to the power of 10. She was always someone I looked up to for her "mothering abilities"...she was one of those moms that you couldn't help but say "wow...I wish I was that good with my kids".

She tried to help and prepare her family for the day they would be without her. What incredible strength and love that must have taken...but she had it...she had it...

She never complained...I never heard her say one word of pity or feeling sorry for herself...and she never asked for help...and she always was one to ask about YOU instead of telling you about herself.

The last time I saw her she raved on and on about how good I looked and how proud she was of me...and all I could think about was even though she was sick and even though I had lost all this weight I would never be the beauty she was...because that kind of beauty doesn't come from a jar, or a needle, or a serum bottle, or an exercise machine. That kind of beauty comes from the soul...

She was a beautiful soul...

And I, and all that knew and loved her, will miss that beautiful soul....

Vaya con Dios, Laura...

You will forever be loved...and the legacy that is your children is as fine a legacy as anyone could ever have.


Inspiration Song: "Hey Laura" by Christopher Cross...

Bye Darlings...I need to dry some tears now...and if you knew Laura, send up a prayer of thanksgiving for her and a prayer for her family...and if you didn't know her---well, you missed out....she was amazing...

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