Crownover Family Blog: April 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Moms of Tweeners

My friend just sent this to me from our sampling party and game night. Four of us are 'all boys' and only one has 'the girl' of the big kids crew. To translate, there is Ryan, Stephen, Carl(+2), Eric(+1) and Maddie(+1).

A Holey "Mole"-y accurate family depiction by Jesse

She called her pole Stella in spending so much time together

This was my Aunt Carole's fb profile picture for the last couple of years

Guard Dog for the sick

Dewey...before he contributed more than he should have in the walk!

Sporting his new shirt & motto that he just LOVES & finds hilarious...

Eric makes, bakes & takes the cake...to school ;)

Lost in April

So, we have had some unprecedented weather this month. 80 degrees and then low 30s two day later. Bloomin' is not coming easy but sickness breeds well, it seems. We've had a decent amount of sniffling and sneezing over the last several days. Basically, we lost the feel of springtime.

Eric also had to say goodbye to one of his favorite teachers. She finished her student teaching term with his favorite math teacher. As he had learned she was a Penn State fan too, he decided to make her a cake to celebrate their class time together. It was white swirled with blue and was very well received on her final day at their school.

We experienced an even greater loss of a family member this past week. After a heck of a fight, my Aunt Carole succumbed to the cancer that just wouldn't reprieve. Although we were not able to go visit her in the last couple of months she was in Pittsburgh as her condition was rapidly deteriorating, I remember and treasure our last family visit with her. During this time, she sported no hair (thanks to the aggresive chemo treatments) but still pointed out and laughed at spotting a gray hair on my head. This was more of a chuckle in her realization that my 'little niece Missy' is getting old too. She was amazingly strong and kept perspective in the real battle she was faced with for these last couple of years. This was the fb post she made after our visit on 12/27/11:
Had an awesome day yesterday! My son David was able to get to Pitt to visit and ny niece,Missy, and her family came later to visit!I finally got to meet her husband,Jon, after 12 yrs of marriage...lol And her oldest son, Eric. I had met her youngest, Jesse, on a previous visit. It was a great visit! They brought me homemade cookies (YUM) and chex mix.There's nothing quite like family...cherish them.

I also have a tremendous appreciation for what she had listed under her 'about me' fb section:
I am strong because I have been weak. I am beautiful because I know my flaws. I am a lover because I am a fighter. I am fearless because I have been afraid. I am wise because I have been foolish. I can laugh because I have known sorrow. -Unknown-

I am currently in the initial chemotherapy treatment for Adult Acute Lymphocytic(Leukoblastic) Leukemia. Don't ask me; I don't know where the hell it came from...lol. Every tough life experience I've had and made it through has prepared me for these coming days. I am a strong woman and I will remain a strong woman. My family and friends are my lifeline to life, happiness, joy and infallable support! I love you all with all I have and am!

She never had an easy life and there have been too many rifts in our family over lives lived in estranged paths and also in death. I know Carole found peace and hope that all whose life she has touched can learn from what she brought in her shared time here on earth. I will remember her and smile and know that is what she would want. Also, for the record, I am pretty sure somebody made me the scapegoat when they didn't have room for her toys in their move to CA. She told me how she resented the fact that they had to leave them behind and had given them to me. Thirty years later is when I learned of this and she let go.

Before I end this post, I also wanted to share a few other catch up moments, hopefully on a more positive note too. We walked in support of the fight against MS. The funniest moment of this was near the beginning when the dog you see that Eric is holding on a leash in one of the picture, Dewey, decided he really needed "to go" in the middle of a main city street within a swarm of walkers...which cleared out pretty fast in disgust and being appalled by the smell and his chosen action. Regardless, our team of 20 raised over $3000 which was fantastic.

So, there we have it....closing out April soon and hopefully bringing in a fresh new start with May soon.