From Echo, "A Mixture of Joy and Sorrow"

Echo is still having some difficulty posting and commenting,
so she sent this and asked that I post it for her:



     A MIXTURE OF JOY AND SORROW

Two weeks ago Shifty and I was so excited about attending
the Alumni Banquet and the 45th Class Reunion for the
Class of 65.  As many of you already know I received a
phone call at the reunion that my oldest brother was
dying. I was able to make it to Northern Indiana the next
day and see my brother, Buddy, for one last time before
he passed away. God was merciful in giving us this time.

Then as you know Shifty and I just purchased our
retirement home in Florida. We left for Florida on the
following Saturday to take possession of our new home.
We arrieve on Sunday which was Father's Day.  I was
thinking what a wonderful Father's day present this was
for Shifty.  When we arrived we was welcomed by my
foster sister Jan and her family. They had a huge family
cook out waiting for us when we arrived.

This seemed like a wonderful start to a new life
following our loss the week before.  But that joy was
short lived.  Just as we sat down to our first dinner
in our new home the phone rang and we was told that
my brother, Bobby, had taken a turn for the worst and
wasn't expected to pull through.  Bobby had lung cancer
but was giving it a good fight. He had been admitted a
few days earlier to the hospital with a double staph
infecton but they thought that they had it under control
and he was doing much better.  We thought he would be
going home in a few days.  I visited with him on
Friday before we left for Florida on Saturday and we
even planned a family reunion when we returned from
Florida.

Four hours after we got to Florida our son Todd called
us and told us that Bobby had taken a turn for the worse
late Saturday night.  He said, " Mom, Uncle Bobby isn't
going to make it but he just won't let go.  There is some
reason that he won't give up and we believe that it is
because he is waiting for you to say good bye".

So Todd held the phone to Bobby's ear and I spoke to
him begging him not to give up and telling him how much
I loved him.  Twenty minutes after I spoke to him he
peacefully passed away.

I have always been told and believe that God has a plan
for each of us.  He has a schedule for all of us and when
we have accomplished what we were here for it will be our
time to go.  Us being able to say good bye was his final
accomplishment.

Be sure that all of you take advantage of every opportunity
to enjoy your loved ones as much as you can.  And remember
to tell your loved ones how much you love them as often as
you can.

Echo & Shifty