8 years ago our world was shaken like the hardest you have ever imagined you could shake a snow globe then over the next 4 years that snow globe fell apart a little piece at a time until one day it was just thrown against the wall with all the force in the world.
8 years ago I was still working at panasonic, Skip was still driving over the road, we were pregnant with our first baby, we were building our dream home. Life was basically perfect and then we were given that gentle reminder that it wasnt.
I was on my way home from work and always had the worst reception coming down flat shoals so when I was getting a call from my MIL I just let it go to voice mail because I knew I wouldn't be able to hear her anyway. But the call came through again, I picked it up and the call dropped once again the phone rang I answered and I could tell she sounded upset although I couldn't completely understand her. All I could understand for certain was her asking me where I was and how soon I could get to the house. The next thing was there had been an accident. The call dropped again. I started to speed down that road and I called her right back, she told me that Pop had been in an accident and to get home as quick as I could.
As soon as I got to the driveway and there were cars I didn't know I knew it wasn't good. Walked into the house and her eyes were so red and she could barely talk as she told me Pop was gone.
Our next step was how in the world we were going to get Skip home from Florida. Calling him and telling him his father was gone was something we knew couldnt be done until we figured out how he was going to get home.
I had heard many times that we have friends for a reason, season, or lifetime but never understood the true importance of that until 2011. It wasn't until the snow globe completely shattered until I realized how awesome God was to place the people in our lives that he had at that moment. To have friends at that time that were able to drop everything and drive to Florida right then. To have friends that were able to drive his truck to get him home. To have friends that wold let you snot on there shoulder. We may not be friends with them now but I now know that we don't have to be. If their sole purpose in our lives was to help us with that 1 day I get it.
This time of year is not the best for us. If we didn't have kids, Skip would have us just completely pass this holiday over without a second thought and I can't say that I don't blame him. It hurt me for years but I wanted to make sure I was the strong one. It still hurts me now, but now it's more for my kids. The older they get the more I miss their ability to have their grandpa. I can only imagine what it would look like to watch my son load up with his daddy and his pop to go fishing. I can only imagine what it would be like to see my little girl sit in her pop's lap and tell him about her day.
We dread this day every year but we are slowly getting better. Even if it's just a peice at a time. It took years for that snowglobe to completely shatter and it will take years to get it all glued back together.
