Tiffany, You may not have always liked or loved me, that I understand. But I want you to know that I have always loved you. I wish that I would've been big enough to let you know one recent lonely afternoon. Your untimely passing will not go to waste on me. A valuable lesson I have learned indeed.
Uh-Oh! Despite my early bedtime I didn’t wake until 545am this morning. This caused no consternation, but it did incent me to speed up a little. I exercised quickly and then proceeded to walk Ykraps. I was back by 6:10am – now only 5 minutes behind where I like to be. I decided right then that I wouldn’t compromise my slow, methodical approach to morning prep just because I was lagging behind a little.
After concocting my morning cup of java I found my way onto the deck where I meditated for a good fifteen minutes in the airy presence of nature. It was beautiful out there this morning as the local wildlife was teeming with energy for the dawning day. The meditation helped put me in the right frame of mind for what could be an emotionally draining day.
By 6:40am, I found my way inside where I began prepping my lunch and breakfast. I was done and eating by 7:10am. After rinsing my breakfast dishes and loading them in the dishwasher, I made Mindy a cup of coffee and headed up to the shower. After my shower I made my way downstairs to load my Trooper and play some guitar just before walking out the door. Before I departed, Jacob, Bella, Mindy and I had a big group hug. Jacob seemed to be feeling quite a bit better this AM.
I arrived to work just a few minutes after 8:00am. It was already 78 degrees by the time I arrived at work. Because the expected high was again 96 degrees with elevated humidity, I attempted to organize my morning around an early run. I was successful and left for the gym at 10:45am. It was already 87 degrees with humidity readings around 70%. That translated into a heat index of 94 degrees. The run out was noticeably cooler, but once again, by the time I reached the one mile to-go mark, I began to over heat a bit. The sun beating on my neck and back seems to be more the culprit. After my run I abstained from eating my lunch for not wanting to eat too early only to find myself hungry again by late afternoon.
During the afternoon I attended a couple of meetings that lasted until 4:15pm. I had planned to leave at 4pm to be home in time to ready comfortably ready for Tiffany’s showing so once I got back to my office I made quick work of winding down for the day. I was home by 4:40pm. Mindy was not home yet so I had about 25 minutes to myself. I walked Ykraps and washed my lunch containers. I even updated my blog prior to her coming home. Once she arrived we carried in a number of boxes form the old house. When we were through, Mindy headed off for a shower, and I took to my reading chair with my book. As intended, I fell asleep after about 7 or 8 pages. I snuck in a decent 15 minute nap. After waking I jumped to my feet and headed upstairs to ready myself.
By 5:50pm Mindy and I were headed out the door. We called Ashley and Lindsey as we were leaving to see if they needed a ride. As it turned out, Ashley wanted to ride with us so we headed over to Kelly’s to pick her up. Lindsey went to pick-up Courtney and Chad. Ashley, Mindy, and I arrived at Rutherford Shroyer sometime around 6:20pm. It was a packed house. Most of my immediate family members were there as were several of Tiffany’s friends, most of whom I had never seen before. Given her hard life style, it should’ve come as no surprise that there were some scary looking characters scattered amongst the mourners. Still, everyone was extremely polite and congenial.
Included in the bunch was Tiffany’s mother, Cheryl whom I hadn’t seen in years. She was understandably distraught and made a few minor scenes, but all in all, nothing too bad. I was told that earlier in the day she had made a significant scene with Tiffany’s biological father whom had never been in her life but showed up for her wake. I guess I can understand the bitterness there.
It’s a pitty that it takes such events to bring our family closer together. I hadn’t seen Charles and his wife since Grandma Wright’s funeral. All my brothers were there except for Glenn, and all three of my daughters were there which hasn’t happened in a long, long time. I introduced Mindy to those that hadn’t yet met her, but most already had. I was most impressed with my nephew Michael (Tiffany’s little brother), who took charge during a few awkward situations. God bless him!
I approached Tiffany’s casket after some traffic had cleared with Mindy close at my side. Even though she looked good, it didn’t look like the Tiffany I knew. There were several notes, cards, and pictures placed in her coffin. I grasped Tiffany’s hand and asked our God to watch over her. I Also told Tiffany to be at peace. Many visitors came and went. Later, once Cheryl had left Tiffany’s side, I approached Charles and asked if pictures would be acceptable. He agreed to allow me to shoot some pics and walked forward with me. Michael was at Tiff’s side, so Charles asked him too. Michael, I could tell, wasn’t so sure but ultimately agreed to it. He asked that I keep the flash to a minimum. I respected his wishes and decreased the flash intensity to its lowest setting. I took two pics and then a couple pics of the floral arrangements sent by Glenn & I.
Mom & Chuck requested a pic of Mindy and I, as well as on of me and all three of my girls. We began clearing out just around 8:10pm. Before leaving I ventured around the funeral parlor reminiscing about the last time I had been in this chapel. That would’ve been July 1975 (some 31 years ago) for my grandfather Wright’s funeral. In the room where he was memorialized there was a curtain. I pulled it back slightly only to realize that there was another coffin back there. This coffin was ‘cracked’ open and contained a female body, an elderly woman. I couldn’t quite make it out but there was something like a mask over her face, apparently to prevent any collapsing due to the coffin being closed. I turned and saw the funeral director peering my way so I quickly closed the curtain and returned to the main parlor.
Soon it was time for us to go. I paid my final respsect and then approached Cheryl, Tiffany’s mother, to give her a loving hug. No one, I don’t care who, should have to endure such pain. After, I hugged my momma, Charles, and others before we left. Outside, I noticed Dad wandering alone curbside as if waiting for things to wrap up. Mindy and I approached him and could tell he was reminiscing about days gone by. These, after all, were his stomping grounds as a young boy. He shared a few little stories with Mindy and I before we bidded him a goodbye. As we turned to leave Lindsey and Ashley were just exiting the funeral home too. I put my arms around them both happy that they are here to be loved. We walked to our cars and headed home.
We called ‘Jamaican’ (Jim Manken) as we were leaving to let him know we were in route to home. He would be bringing the kids our way. Once we were finally home, he was there within five minutes. We readied the kids for bed in short order and I read them more of the Disney Ocean creature book. After they fell asleep, Mindy warmed a crab cake and salmon impregnated with a spinach and feta cheese mixture that she had purchased Monday from Giant Eagle. By now it was 9:30pm. We were both exhausted and wanted to go to sleep. After cleaning up and securing the home, we headed up to bed. Before falling asleep, we chatted about Tiffany, my kids, and several other things. 20 minutes later we were both drifting off to sleep.
Tiffany, You may not have always liked or loved me, that I understand. But I want you to know that I have always loved you. I wish that I would've been big enough to let you know one recent lonely afternoon. Your untimely passing will not go to waste on me. A valuable lesson I have learned indeed.
Uh-Oh! Despite my early bedtime I didn’t wake until 545am this morning. This caused no consternation, but it did incent me to speed up a little. I exercised quickly and then proceeded to walk Ykraps. I was back by 6:10am – now only 5 minutes behind where I like to be. I decided right then that I wouldn’t compromise my slow, methodical approach to morning prep just because I was lagging behind a little.
After concocting my morning cup of java I found my way onto the deck where I meditated for a good fifteen minutes in the airy presence of nature. It was beautiful out there this morning as the local wildlife was teeming with energy for the dawning day. The meditation helped put me in the right frame of mind for what could be an emotionally draining day.
By 6:40am, I found my way inside where I began prepping my lunch and breakfast. I was done and eating by 7:10am. After rinsing my breakfast dishes and loading them in the dishwasher, I made Mindy a cup of coffee and headed up to the shower. After my shower I made my way downstairs to load my Trooper and play some guitar just before walking out the door. Before I departed, Jacob, Bella, Mindy and I had a big group hug. Jacob seemed to be feeling quite a bit better this AM.
I arrived to work just a few minutes after 8:00am. It was already 78 degrees by the time I arrived at work. Because the expected high was again 96 degrees with elevated humidity, I attempted to organize my morning around an early run. I was successful and left for the gym at 10:45am. It was already 87 degrees with humidity readings around 70%. That translated into a heat index of 94 degrees. The run out was noticeably cooler, but once again, by the time I reached the one mile to-go mark, I began to over heat a bit. The sun beating on my neck and back seems to be more the culprit. After my run I abstained from eating my lunch for not wanting to eat too early only to find myself hungry again by late afternoon.
During the afternoon I attended a couple of meetings that lasted until 4:15pm. I had planned to leave at 4pm to be home in time to ready comfortably ready for Tiffany’s showing so once I got back to my office I made quick work of winding down for the day. I was home by 4:40pm. Mindy was not home yet so I had about 25 minutes to myself. I walked Ykraps and washed my lunch containers. I even updated my blog prior to her coming home. Once she arrived we carried in a number of boxes form the old house. When we were through, Mindy headed off for a shower, and I took to my reading chair with my book. As intended, I fell asleep after about 7 or 8 pages. I snuck in a decent 15 minute nap. After waking I jumped to my feet and headed upstairs to ready myself.
By 5:50pm Mindy and I were headed out the door. We called Ashley and Lindsey as we were leaving to see if they needed a ride. As it turned out, Ashley wanted to ride with us so we headed over to Kelly’s to pick her up. Lindsey went to pick-up Courtney and Chad. Ashley, Mindy, and I arrived at Rutherford Shroyer sometime around 6:20pm. It was a packed house. Most of my immediate family members were there as were several of Tiffany’s friends, most of whom I had never seen before. Given her hard life style, it should’ve come as no surprise that there were some scary looking characters scattered amongst the mourners. Still, everyone was extremely polite and congenial.
Included in the bunch was Tiffany’s mother, Cheryl whom I hadn’t seen in years. She was understandably distraught and made a few minor scenes, but all in all, nothing too bad. I was told that earlier in the day she had made a significant scene with Tiffany’s biological father whom had never been in her life but showed up for her wake. I guess I can understand the bitterness there.
It’s a pitty that it takes such events to bring our family closer together. I hadn’t seen Charles and his wife since Grandma Wright’s funeral. All my brothers were there except for Glenn, and all three of my daughters were there which hasn’t happened in a long, long time. I introduced Mindy to those that hadn’t yet met her, but most already had. I was most impressed with my nephew Michael (Tiffany’s little brother), who took charge during a few awkward situations. God bless him!
I approached Tiffany’s casket after some traffic had cleared with Mindy close at my side. Even though she looked good, it didn’t look like the Tiffany I knew. There were several notes, cards, and pictures placed in her coffin. I grasped Tiffany’s hand and asked our God to watch over her. I Also told Tiffany to be at peace. Many visitors came and went. Later, once Cheryl had left Tiffany’s side, I approached Charles and asked if pictures would be acceptable. He agreed to allow me to shoot some pics and walked forward with me. Michael was at Tiff’s side, so Charles asked him too. Michael, I could tell, wasn’t so sure but ultimately agreed to it. He asked that I keep the flash to a minimum. I respected his wishes and decreased the flash intensity to its lowest setting. I took two pics and then a couple pics of the floral arrangements sent by Glenn & I.
Mom & Chuck requested a pic of Mindy and I, as well as on of me and all three of my girls. We began clearing out just around 8:10pm. Before leaving I ventured around the funeral parlor reminiscing about the last time I had been in this chapel. That would’ve been July 1975 (some 31 years ago) for my grandfather Wright’s funeral. In the room where he was memorialized there was a curtain. I pulled it back slightly only to realize that there was another coffin back there. This coffin was ‘cracked’ open and contained a female body, an elderly woman. I couldn’t quite make it out but there was something like a mask over her face, apparently to prevent any collapsing due to the coffin being closed. I turned and saw the funeral director peering my way so I quickly closed the curtain and returned to the main parlor.
Soon it was time for us to go. I paid my final respsect and then approached Cheryl, Tiffany’s mother, to give her a loving hug. No one, I don’t care who, should have to endure such pain. After, I hugged my momma, Charles, and others before we left. Outside, I noticed Dad wandering alone curbside as if waiting for things to wrap up. Mindy and I approached him and could tell he was reminiscing about days gone by. These, after all, were his stomping grounds as a young boy. He shared a few little stories with Mindy and I before we bidded him a goodbye. As we turned to leave Lindsey and Ashley were just exiting the funeral home too. I put my arms around them both happy that they are here to be loved. We walked to our cars and headed home.
We called ‘Jamaican’ (Jim Manken) as we were leaving to let him know we were in route to home. He would be bringing the kids our way. Once we were finally home, he was there within five minutes. We readied the kids for bed in short order and I read them more of the Disney Ocean creature book. After they fell asleep, Mindy warmed a crab cake and salmon impregnated with a spinach and feta cheese mixture that she had purchased Monday from Giant Eagle. By now it was 9:30pm. We were both exhausted and wanted to go to sleep. After cleaning up and securing the home, we headed up to bed. Before falling asleep, we chatted about Tiffany, my kids, and several other things. 20 minutes later we were both drifting off to sleep.
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