My phone rang after church today. It was the Neal's. They are a couple that were stationed with my parents when I was born. In fact, I was named after Mrs. Neal or Nancy as you may have gathered. They were calling to see how Mom was doing. I had to do the deep breath, swallow and then tell them not only had mom passed on but Dad did too. They were very nice about it and shared some stories about Mom and Dad. Mr. Neal used to go quail hunting with Dad. He said in Kansas, Dad went to the Kickapoo Indian reservation and spoke with the head in their tribe. It was a woman and got permission for them to hunt quail on the reservation. He said he and Dad would always go there after that because no one else hunted there. They would always take the woman a gift. Mrs. Neal said and she and Mom would go shopping. I'm not sure who took care of the kids. They both recalled how much Mom laughed. I miss her smile and her laugh every day.
We walked down the aisle and joined the Baptist church today. If Mom had still been alive she probably would have been asked to come up and stand with us. It was the same aisle I traversed at eight before being baptized, in my teens for Cindy's and Sharon's weddings and then again when I got married. It is also the church where both my parents lay in state and my family and I received friends condolences including my friend Leigh who drove all the way from Knoxville to tell me how sorry she was only to have to leave before the funeral. An hour and a half drive for a 15 min condolence shows quite a commitment. It is my friends like that that make me sad that we aren't returning to Knoxville. I have very good friends here too but God just didn't put them all in one place. I'm not sure what his plan is for me here but I hope I'm up to it. This week is the kids play at HVCS and my nephew's play at Chattanooga Christian. I can't believe Mom won't be here to see them. I told Jeff tonight that I always knew even if no one else came my mom would be there. I know God knows what he is doing but my heart is aching tonight.
I'm glad you decided to stay for a while but I'm sorry most of your friends are in Knoxville. I am in a similar situation... most of my friends have moved away and I'm in the process of making new ones. It's been kind of difficult to make new friends here, even for an extrovert like myself.
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