Thank You



Thank you, to all of you who have left me a comment or sent an email and to everyone who has kept my family in their thoughts and prayers with the passing of my Mother-In-Law.

They have all been greatly accepted with open hearts.

She and I didn't always see eye to eye.

(and both of us could be called bull-headed)

When the Farmboy and I were dating, his mother and I didn't like each other at all.

She thought I wasn't good enough for her son.

I thought she was just a mean, old woman with a chip on her shoulder.

After she lost her husband, the Farmboy and I decided she should come live with us.

It took a lot of adjusting for both her and me.

Then one day we blew up on each other.

It was nasty.

So nasty it had the Farmboy tip-toeing backwards from the room so as not to be pulled into the middle of it.

It ended with me calling her a "crazy, old lady" and her calling me a "crazy bitch."

Then we both burst into laughter and tears and hugged.

The ice had melted.

She finally respected me.

She was an incredibly strong woman.

Independent.  Hard working.  As giving as a person can be.

One day when I was whining about something or other that she had done to irritate me, my father looked at me and said,

"You listen to her.  She's lived a long, hard life and is full of wisdom because of it."

I couldn't see it at the time.

But this last year I've spent with her, I've seen it as clear as day.  It may not have always been within her words, but it was definitely within her actions.

She raised two amazing boys and loved them more than anything.

And she gave me an unexpected gift when she died.

She brought my Sister-In-Law and I closer together.

Unexpected because we were already so close, we didn't think we could get any closer.

I used to joke with her that she wasn't allowed to die on my watch.

She would cackle and tell me she most definitely would.

I'm sure she thought she got the last word in, because that is exactly what she did.

But by now she probably knows she was wrong.

I feel more than honored to have been by her side when she left us.

Honored to have seen her off on her next journey, letting her know how much we all love her.

As I sit here now and write this, I can hear her fussing at me,

"Stop your crying over me, Weezie, and go make something pretty!"

So that's what I'm going to do.