Two days after Christmas last year we lost an irreplaceable piece of our family’s puzzle… my brother Mike’s wife, Kay. Kay was not only a hilarious sister-in-law, she was also the crazy glue holding our family together at Thanksgiving!
This time last year, even though Kay was on the home stretch of an 18 month battle with brain cancer- she was still phenomenally full of laughter and fun. I remember her bossy meticulous instructions, as we planned the annual Athens pre-Thanksgiving dinner. “Boogie, (that’s what she called me) make sure we have color coordinated Fall napkins and flowers.” That’s exactly what we did.
Tomorrow will be our first Athens Thanksgiving since Kay’s ‘graduation. I woke up this morning thinking about her words- and knew was time to jump into action.
I’ll never forget planning Kay’s celebration of life service, when my brother Mike said, “what would KK do?” We wore bright colors, told classic stories, and laughed a lot- just like she would do.
Here’s what I think KK would want us to do tomorrow:
* have coordinated napkins and flowers- check
* fall apart laughing when the grand babies act crazy.
* eat yummy smoked turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole and Kentucky Derby pie.
* tell funny stories about her amazing life.
Mike sent me an epic KK story this week. It’s about the day some mice got in her Buick station wagon. I wonder if they were feasting on the Happy Meal crumbs under the seats? The funny part came when she decided to release a couple kittens in the station wagon to take care of the mice. You can’t make this stuff up.
KK- we will miss you like crazy tomorrow- but are grateful beyond words for the way you kept smiling and celebrating life no matter what!
”We will always love you, Kay!
Philippians 4:13 pretty much sums up Kay’s contagious joy and perseverance~ “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
************************************************************************************* Do you have any ideas for celebrating someone you’re missing this year? Please share them here!