Favorite Memories

I really struggled a while to know if I should write this here. After some encouragement from Chelle, I’ve decided to go ahead and do so. All of us children (well, the children and the spouses) were asked to speak at the funeral, and of course, I said yes from the get go. And then a day or so, I started to panic. There would be so many people there, and I’d have to speak in front of all of them. So tonight, after the viewing, I finally sat down to write out the talk. I knew that if I didn’t write it out, I wouldn’t be able to remember any of it, and I’d mumble and cry, and that would be it. We had all decided to talk on our favorite memories of them – the memories we had that we enjoyed the most, and after I thought, I had my memories, and here they are to be shared with you.

One of my favorite memories of Sue is when she was helping me. It was a while ago, and Husband was out of town on business. It was a Thursday night, I think, and after I got home from work, I just didn't want to be alone in the house. I don't know why, I don't know what was going on with me, but I didn't want to be alone, and I felt dumb just calling up anyone to admit what a sissy I was being, that I couldn't be alone. On the drive home, I was trying to think of reasons that I could call someone or invite them over, but I couldn’t come up with anything plausible. Of course, Husband and I talked for a few minutes on the phone, like we always do when he’s out of town, and I told him what I was feeling, and he just kept telling me to call someone, which my pride wouldn't let me do, so I said no, and that I'd just tough it out by myself. I hung up with him, and about 20 minutes later, there's a knock at my door, and when I open it, there's Sue, Anne, and Autumn, arms full of cookie dough, ice cream, cookies, and banana-split fixings. Of course, the first thing out of my mouth is “Adam called you, didn't he?” and yes, he had. So instead of them doing whatever it was that they were doing, they spent the evening with me, stuffing ourselves to the gills with unhealthy delicious food. And as they were leaving, Sue offered to spend the night, in case I needed more support, but I was just blown away by the whole thing. I know she had other things to do that night, maybe even important things, but in true Sue fashion, she stopped what she was doing to help someone else, and I'll never forget that, I'll always remember her coming to my aid when I needed it, and was too proud to ask for it.

My favorite Steve memory is one that happened when we invited them over for our first home dinner when we bought our house. Steve is really smart. Like, always has been really smart, honor roll, etc. So on this day, after we had finished dinner, Steve finds out that I own Mastermind (the game) and immediately he wants to get a game going. I'm sure people probably know this game, but just in case, two people play. Person A, or Steve in our game, picks 4 colors of pegs, and sets them in a specific order. Person B, or me, is supposed to pick the right colors, in the right order, to win. Now, he is great at this game, but I am terrible. So I remember playing this game for like, a straight hour, and I am HORRIBLE at it. And I can tell he feels bad for me, because he's giving me so many more hints than you're supposed to be given. And he's trying to help me win, and even Sue is trying to help me, but I keep thinking, I can do this by myself, I don't need help! Of course, I didn't win, I didn't even come close, but it was just so much fun. And then, we switch places, and I pick the pegs, and I think he won within, like, 5 moves. I haven’t played that game again since then, and that was 2 years ago. I’m not saying he scarred me, but still…

So there they are, my memories. These are ones I’ll definitely remember and hang onto, as well as the tons of other memories I’ve had. And as the old saying goes, as cliché as it is, they may be gone, but they’re not forgotten.