Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Life is hard

For those of you that know me beyond my blog, July was a very difficult month for me and my family. My brother-in-law, "Carguy", passed away after a short illness. It was a grueling 10 days of surgeries, ICU, all day and half the night vigils, followed by bursts of hope, silliness, laughter and hospice. Through it all my younger sister, Vampgal, was an incredible example of grace under pressure with a side of you have to be kidding me.

Carguy was 40 and Vampgal 25 when they met and fell in love. Me, I was hardly a fan. I thought he was old (I was 29), a bum (even though he had a successful automotive repair business) and just all around the wrong guy for my sister. When I first caught wind of their relationship, I drove to his place of business and told him to stay away. Thank goodness he didn't listen to me then and hardly listened to me after that.

Carguy was patient with me and Vampgal as we have this twisted sister relationship. (When you add in my other sister, Dance Mom, it only gets more twisted). He survived me, my daughters, my relationship with Sparky, and my moving in with them when I moved to Atlanta in 2002. He taught my girls how to swim, shoot tequila and aim a rifle. He taught us basic car repair and maintenance, patience and the need to take care of ourselves. Unknowingly, he also taught my daughters that they should be cherished by their spouses. This is the lesson that may take years for them to realize but I suspect his leading by example will be forefront in their minds.

Seven years ago, I moved out of Carguy's house and purchased the house around the corner. I always felt drawn to its' quirky layout, small house, big lawn qualities. Maybe I didn't want to be alone in a new city and having Vampgal around the corner was comforting. Hopefully now I can return the favor when Vampgal is feeling alone. Whatever the divine plan is, I know we will approach the hard times with a sense of family, humor and love.

We miss you Carguy. I promise to return to this blog to it's silly, random self but I had to tell everyone about you before I could move on. Pet Earnhardt for us and I'll keep an eye on Vamp. XOXO

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