So I have finished packing, and then unpacking (due to my bag being too heavy!) and repacking. And now we sit and relax in anticipation for our vacation to Mexico tomorrow. While I am excited to go, I also will be traveling with a heavy heart. Aside from everything going on (or not going on) relative to the "baby" front, including negative emotions, anger, sadness, jealousy, and so on, my family has unfortunately experienced a great loss this week. I have been trying to deal with how to handle my emotions following the loss of my uncle and how I feel about having to miss his funeral services. My family has told me to go on vacation, enjoy myself and "drink a Coors light for Bob," telling me that is what he would want me to do. So, I will do just that and go on vacation and likely drink a LOT of Coors lights for him! But all the while, he will be in the back of my mind along with the rest of my family who will be grieving for our loss and celebrating his life. The hardest part of all is not to be able to support my family and have their support as I also grieve. I will miss out on the family time where everyone shares happy memories and funny stories about him. So I have decided that since I can't partake in that later this week, I will share some of my fondest Bob memories with everyone who cares to read this and know what an amazing person he was.
My Uncle Bob was quite an athlete. I will brag a bit. He was a phenomenal handball player and actually was inducted into the NCAA handball hall of fame years ago. No joke!! And I will always remember the long Saturdays that I spent at Rockhurst with my family, including Mom, Grandma, aunts and cousins, watching him and my Uncle Frank play handball with all of their buddies.
My Uncle Bob was also a runner. He ran marathons, half marathons, 10ks and 5ks up until the end of his life. In the final years we as a family walked with him, pushing him in his wheelchair and walking along with him, doing one of the things he loved so much. He looked forward to Hospital Hill every year as it approached, and I have so much respect for my aunt for helping him to continue to enjoy this even in the years for which he had to participate in the wheelchair.
My Uncle Bob was generous and giving. Here's just one example...He wanted so badly for my mom to have a dog after my brother and I moved out that he practically had one foot out the door waiting for her phone call to let him know when she was ready. He couldn't wait to meet us at Petsmart to help with her dog selection. He walked the aisles of the store throwing anything and everything into the cart that he felt she and Maggie, her new pooch, would need. He didn't even bat an eyelash when doing this. This is only one example of his selflessness for others. Bob was such a dog lover too. He made sure any time he visited any of our houses where dogs resided that there was not a shortage of treats being dispensed to our four legged friends.
The stories about Bob go on and on and I'm sure my family will have many more happy joyful memories to share with one another later this week. No one deserves to get sick and have to live with a terrible disease like the one he had, but my heart aches to have seen such a wonderful person experience what he did. And in true Bob form, I never heard him complain. Not once. I aspire to live my life with the positive attitude he did and to be as loving and generous as he was. He will be greatly missed. So Uncle Bob, I'll crack open a cold one for you in a few days and be thinking about you all the while!
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