in memorium

the last 15 days feel more like a year than 15 days. everyone living inside 126 park is tired and in need of recovery. i am not so sure i am ready to fill in the all the details but i have missed my blog and i am glad to be back in "blog-ness" so to speak. reading all the blogs i've missed, however, is going to take me forever but i will make it through...with comments to boot!

as you know, ryan's mom, gail, passed away last thursday following a courageous 3 year battle with cancer. gail had a difficult prognosis from the start and yet she managed to enjoy 3 years doing things she loved (frequent visits to friends & the ocean), doing things on her "bucket list" (taking a wonderful 2 week trip to hawaii) and meeting the one person she wanted to know more than any other (her grandson wil). losing gail has been an emotional experience for ryan, his family and for me. i cannot begin to imagine the pain ryan is going through but the look in his eyes gives me a clue.

gail had a fun and adventure filled life. the stories told about her over the past week revealed a woman who was sassy and spunky from the beginning. as a little girl she watched from the top of a tree in her front yard as her mother panicked and called the police to help find her "lost" child only to later to hear from the top of that tree "moooooooom...i'm up here." as a teenager she hosted a party at her parent's house (unbeknown to them) for a group of hell's angels whose motorcycles covered the lawn which horrified her mother. she was a self-described hippie chick who played guitar, sang puff the magic dragon and drove a VW bettle. as a mother she delighted in her three children, heather, sean & my dear ryan, and loved to laugh and tell stories of their mischief and mayhem as both children and adults! she was thrilled to have a grandchild and wil was lucky to have her as his grandmama even for such a short time. gail was an accomplished knitter, a great cook, adored animals and loved to read - all interests we shared (although she was a much, MUCH better knitter than i will ever be!).

the outpouring of people at her funeral service was a testament to the many lives she touched. it was a laughter-filled occasion and that's exactly the way she would've wanted it. she will be missed but always remembered. we will make sure wil always knows who she was and how much she loved him. we are grateful that she is at peace and know she will enjoy watching over our lives from the best seat in the house.

god bless you gail...may you rest in peace.