What strikes me about these pictures is that they are of my mom's only two actual grandchildren. She died of breast cancer before she got to meet either of these wonderful people. Joey knows who Grandma Sandy is (and Kam will) but they never got to sit in her lap or know her in any real way. They'll only hear the stories.
We'll tell them what a kind and generous person our mom was. How she was always late. And always talking. When we were young, she sometimes irritated us. After she died, and we heard person after person tell us how she was instrumental in making their lives better, we began to appreciate the lateness as well as the chattiness. She had been helping people. People told us how she inspired them, how she encouraged them to live sober, how she was simply there to talk to. She didn't just do these things for her children or her family, but for anyone that needed it. Sometimes, OK many times, she fell short of her promises. But, as I've grown up, I've realized that it's only because she promised so much. She had such good intentions that she often over committed.
And now she's gone. And a very important person in our lives has HIV. And she isn't here to hug him and tell him everything will be OK. And we all miss her very very much, Tommy especially.
So, in honor of our mom and in support of our brother, we are doing the Colorado AIDS Walk this year. We just got all signed up as a team, and the walk is in less than two weeks, so time is short. If you would like to sponsor me or sponsor our family group, I would be so grateful.
On behalf of those who are living with HIV and AIDS and those who have been lost, thank you for your support. It means the world to me and to the people who will benefit from your generosity!
Oh, and here's one more picture. Also a favorite. This is our mom holding my sister (Kam's mommy).
1 comment:
strength to you...
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