It’s me.
Hello Darling,
It’s me,
Today, December 8, is such an emotional roller coaster ride for me.
On the positive upside, this is the date of our youngest son’s birth.
A day of happiness when our family of four expanded to five.
The negative downside, this is the date that our little family’s life changed forever, in a split second.
The day our lives would never be the same.
The day our loving little family of five lost the heart of our family.
Today that would be the last time we would say I love you to each other.
The day that would be the last day I would ever see your smiling face, see that twinkle in your eyes, ask how your day was, get my hug, and tell you what was for dinner.
The day that turned my life inside out upside down and threw me into a foreign land.
The day I had to call our children; they were in the lower forty-eight with Mama in Alabama.
That day was a blur to me. I remember bits and pieces of the call in the wee hours of the morning.
A call that a wife, especially a military wife, never wants to receive.
The voice of the police jarred me awake. He explained that you were being flown to the nearest trauma hospital. Due to the severity of your head trauma; time was of the essence for your survival.
I have no memory of how I got to the hospital.
The emergency room doctor told me that you were unconscious, there was swelling on the brain, and they were going to operate to relieve the pressure.
I can still remember when the neurosurgeon explained that the impact crushed your brain stem;surgery was not an option.
Darling, I suppose I just lost it emotionally.
God always puts the right person in our past when we most need them.
I looked up and saw one of my best friends from high school, Wayne, walking toward me.
He just opened his arms and my backed-up tears flowed in a downpour.
Wayne was stationed at the base and heard about your accident. He and his wife stayed with me all night.
The day that would leave us in limbo for four years.
The day that my Yankee Airmen, my loving husband, the father of my children, the love of my life, my everything, you, darling did not awake.
I believe with all my heart that your spirit went to be with our Lord and Savior point impact on that snowy Alaskan highway.
The four years that you remain sleeping, was for me and our children.
I could still see you; I could touch you I could share the day-to-day lives of our three little ones. I could let you know how I was doing I could still say I love you.
You could not talk to me I know in my heart that you could feel my presence, could hear me.
That is all that kept me together during those lonely days and nights.
I was still not ready to let you go when you left.
It was just not supposed to be this way.
We had our plans; from our amazing blind date, from our whirlwind four-week romance, from our beautiful wedding.
A wedding pulled together in four days; while I was on a seven-day vacation to meet your family.
We had our amazing three children.
We were enjoying our Alaskan tour of duty.
We would have our next assignment in the north; we had been in the south long enough.
We would purchase and renovate our Victorian home in upstate New York for our retirement.
We would watch our children grow up, graduate high school and college.
One day, you would walk our precious daughter down the aisle, with tears in your eyes, yet happiness in your heart.
She would forever be daddy’s little girl.
One day, you would stand with our sons on the day they wear the love of their life.
We would enjoy our grandchildren, even our great-grandchildren together.
We would celebrate holidays as a family.
We would, once again, be just the two of us.
We would spend our days and nights together.
We would still cuddle together in front of a cozy fireplace.
Those were our plans.
God had his own plans.
He sent us on that blind date.
He gave us a wonderful blessed fifteen years and three months life together.
A life of love and happiness.
Of course, there were difficulties, Vietnam, my emotional struggles, the trials of everyday marriage and family, better known as our life.
Apart from that December 8 night on the snow-covered Alaskan highway, I would not have missed our fifteen years and three months life of the world.
Those were our plans.
God had his own plans.
You are my special sparkling star, shining so beautiful and brightly in the night skies.
You continue watching over us from your Heavenly Home Above
I love you my Yankee Airman.
Always and forever.
Your Southern Belle
A True Love Story Never Ends.