8 Years

8 Years.

It was 8 years ago today that my uncle Tim passed away. I think about it all the time. My sweet, fun loving uncle, who was taken much too soon. Even though people would characterize him as "mentally handicapped", us as his family did not see him that way. There are a lot of things that remind me of him everyday.

Everytime I drive by the cemetary on 68th st, I think of him, because that's where he is now.

Everytime I think about March 11th, I think of him, because it was the day he died.

Everytime I see an Emerald, I think of him, because his birthday is in May.

Everytime I see Jeff, his old roomate, I think of him.

Everytime I see something about Jurassic Park, I think of him, because that was the movie we watched together.

Everytime I see Glenn Moredyk, our music director at church, I think of him. Glenn walks and is shaped just like my uncle was. :-)

There are alot of things that remind me of Uncle Tim. He was a big part of our lives and in some respects, he still is. Even Charlie knows him, by his picture. It hurts my heart to think about him never getting to meet my Uncle. He was such a loving guy, he had a huge heart! For a long time I wondered if there was something I could have done differently to prevent his death, but I know that I would have done something if I could have.

(*For those of you who don't know, my uncle was in the back seat of my car when he had a massive heart attack. He died instantly.)

I know that it was God's plan for him to only live till he was 37, but it still leaves loved ones here behind to wonder what would have been if he was still here. It makes me so sad because he would have loved hanging out with all his great nieces and nephews! I have no doubt that he would always want to have one of them on his lap at coffee time. He loved kids, so it's sad that he's never going to meet the kids he would have loved so much, and would have made him so happy.

But in other ways, I know where he is and that makes me happy. My uncle is in heaven, and part of me wants to believe that he is holding and loving our baby until we can get there. That is what gives me hope when I get sad and reminiscent in times like these. I know I'll see him again someday!

His favorite thing was to have hamburgers and chocolate milk. So I didn't have a hamburger, but I had some chocolate milk for him today.

Love you Uncle Tim! Save me a place up there!