Mom, do you miss her?

The other day we were all at Tim's parents house. Tyler & I were inside, while everyone else was outside. As we were walking out the door Tyler stopped & looked up at me & asked, "mom, do you miss her?" My heart fell to the ground. "Oh honey, I miss her so much!" Tyler looked down with such sadness, "it's just not the same here without her."

One of the hardest things has been loosing Tim's mother. She has been gone 4 months now & my heart just aches for her. I miss her so much! Honestly, not very many days go by with this sudden brokenness creeping in on me, filling my eyes with tears. Sometimes I miss her so much I just want to scream! Especially when her son makes me mad :) I told this story at her funeral . . . one time Tim & I were having a little storm of our own (of course it was his fault!). Betty & I were talking about him on one of our many car rides & she told me, "next time he does that, you just roll him up in a sheet & beat him with the broom! And if you need help, call me!" Oh how I wanted to beat him the other night (but I think I got the broom confused with a bat!) lol

. . . When I married her son I was barely 20 years old. Tim & I didn't date very long before we decided to "run off & get married" (I wish she would have been there). Everyone tried to talk us out of getting married, "your jumping out of the frying pan into the fire." Not Betty, she knew I was the one, she knew he loved me & she knew we'd be okay. Tim was her baby, spoiled rotten. Their relationship was incredible. I love to hear all of their stories together. This blog isn't about them though, it's about us! "Heee Heee!" -- she would laugh.

When I first met Betty I didn't think we had anything in common. I was a CITY GIRL & she was all COUNTRY! I move about 100 miles away from my family & was out in the middle of the boonies. No one ever thought I'd make it. I'm sure they all had bets on how long I would last. Anyway, I didn't know what I was going to do with Tyler for childcare while I finished school & worked part-time. One night Betty called & asked Tim if I would let her watch Tyler. Let her? What a relief! Betty took such good care of my baby. They fell in love with each other. (more stories there too) We began spending more & more time together, laughing at our differences. Now that she is gone I look back & realize how much we did have in common.

I think it is the summer & watermelon . . . Summer time is one of my favorite memories with her. We had a tradition: Almost every summer night Paw Paw & Grandma would bring a watermelon over. We would all sit on the porch, complaining about how hot it was, & cool off with all the watermelon we could possibly eat. This year no one seems to be as excited about watermelon. Paw Paw looks so sad when he comes without grandma. Sometimes the kids get so excited, almost as if they think he might just bring her one more time. You can see the disappointment in all of our eyes as we try to adjust to life with out Betty.

We miss her!