The Awesomeness of Technology!

Is awesomeness really a word? It didn't give me a red line so maybe it is! *grins*

Thanks to modern technology I was able to "attend" my Aunt Janice's memorial service this morning! I never knew they had live broadcast anywhere for services but I'm so very glad this one does. I couldn't have gone even if we had a car. I can't sit "normal" for more than a few minutes. It's no fun to experience the feeling of pressure and pain so intense it feels as if your legs are going to literally explode in a gory mess. *shivers*

I did find out what the "issue" was with her health. What caused her death was Pulmonary Fibrosis. I'll readily admit I had heard of it but had no clue what it was until last night. It's one of those things you wish you didn't have to know what it was about.

So, back to the service. I saw my one cousin Jimmy, my uncle and 2 of Aunt Janice and Uncle Larry's grandkids. It has been a lot of years! They're not little kids anymore. On of my cousin's son's that was there just graduated from Marine boot camp and was able to come here in time. I also was able to celebrate her life with them which was awesome! I now have an answer to a "big secret" Jimmy and Brian have kept all these years. The secret being about the footprints on the ceiling. Should I tell you? Ok....no need to yell.

They had just painted the boys room. Nice, brand spankin new, not a mark anywhere painted room. They were very inventive young men as all of our family are. We find things to amuse ourselves nicely. Uncle Larry used to make his own worms...the kind you fish with. He would keep the old bits of worms melt them all down and pour it into a mold to make a brand new one. Well, those 2 found out when you threw them against the wall they stick, then it slowly "walks" its way down the wall! Ingenious! Too bad they were so young because they, as Jimmy said today,"make toys just like that today". :-D The only problem was it left a black mark behind but that was quickly remedied by wiping the wall.

So on this day they wanted to try the ceiling. They tossed one......it stuck. They wondered what the heck were they going to do now? They tossed another, then another, until there were 10 of them stuck on the ceiling! Yup, 10 hoping that the next one would knock the other ones off. Obviously didn't work. There they stood trying to figure out how to get them things off the ceiling before mom came in. She always checked on them throughout the day knowing the trouble they could get into if left alone too long.

They were able to use the corner of their closet to "launch" themselves up enough to take a swipe at them. With both of them taking turns, they soon had all 10 of them off in no time! They were quite proud of themselves to say the least. BUT....yeah there is always a but....there was black marks up there now. There was no way to wipe them off this time. Uh-oh.....here comes mom! Looking as angelic as they possibly could, they hoped and prayed she wouldn't notice those marks on the ceiling. She's quite attentive and you can't get anything by her.

I'm a lot like my aunt in many regards. She had a great imagination. She didn't see black marks, she saw their footprints. She wanted to know how the heck did their footprints get on the ceiling? They told her they had made a pact and couldn't tell her. Being the kind of person she was, she wasn't mad at all, just very intrigued.

So, going through the years coming to present day. They had said to her at one point, that when she was on her deathbed, then they'd tell her. Not just on her deathbed, but to the point she wouldn't be able to move or get up to possibly choke them. She tried bribing their spouses and even tried bribing her grandkids to get the story. The wives didn't know, the kids had no luck worming the story from their fathers. Jimmy overheard her telling a friend the story and heard her say, "One day I'm going to be sick enough for them to tell me." Too soon the time came to keep the promise to tell her about the footprints on the ceiling. They related the tale and she was able to have the greatest laugh ever. The marks turned out to be so ordinary but in her mind all these years, the marks were quite extraordinary! Personally, I think they remained so for her until she died.

Thank you Aunt Janice for being you. Thank you for so many things you gave me through the years that you probably don't even know you gave me. I wish I had more time to say all those unsaid things. I know you're listening and will hear me, so I'll have to settle for that. In person would have been better but it wasn't meant to be. No one ever has enough time to say it all. You've left a huge hole in my heart and an even bigger hole in Uncle Larry's and my cousins and their children. I love you and miss you. I truly hope when my time comes, I can handle it with as much humor and dignity as you did. You're who I want to be when I grow up.