Awashed with memories......

Awashed with memories..... is that a word?  Awashed....I don't know but that how I feel today...memories are just washing over me.   I looked it up......
 a·wash  (-wsh, -wôsh)

adv.

1.

a. Washed by the sea.

b. Washing about.

2. In such a position or way as to be covered with or as if with water.

adj.

1. Level with or washed by waves.

2. Overflowing with or as if with water.

3. Floating on or as if on waves

Yep that is how I am feeling.....interesting that it is equated with water.....
I'm such an anniversary type of person, so my mind keeps going back hourly or even more often to this time last year....

We left home on Friday the 10th...famous last words as we are trying to get on the road and running late...."Jon don't go back for that...we'll only be gone a week"  Yes I said that, obviously I do not have any skills as a prophet!!!

We packed all the kids, in our new van headed up to New York on our first family trip with the girls.  We got off to a little late start.  I'm one of those persons who says "we are leaving at 8 am" and we DO or I yell!!!   We drove up 301 towards Jacksonville, our favorite little cut through and stopped at a road side stand to buy a few things for our favorite doctor.  The workers there loved my kids and gave us a big bottle of cane syrup.  I still have it ....   We drove around Jax, never ever dreaming we wouldn't be back to Florida till December and would end up in Jacksonville, a city I have an unusual distaste for....  (sorry to my Jax friends- you guys are awesome)

We drove and stopped and changed diapers....spent the night in Charlotte NC (remembered flying out of there going to go get our girls just months earlier)  Then on Saturday the 11th ( a year from today) we drove up to Mt Airy NC, Andy Griffin's home town and did a quick tour....could that really have been one year ago today?  We bought some things and ate lunch.... 

I didn't know that in days this picture would be all over the news.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have no earthly idea how much I wish I could go back to that day....  We were so happy, the trip had been easy, we were enjoying ourselves.  We are Andy Griffin Fans!  We bought the Mayberry Monopoly game to play...it has never been opened.... We have all the seasons of the show but  I've never watched it again, it just brings back too many memories that are like daggers in my heart.  Just driving by that exit on our way back to Florida in December caused me to sob uncontrollably....   I guess because it represents our last family day...before the accident. 

When we left Mayberry aka Mt Airy, we decided to try a different interstate than I-81 which we usually take just north of there, so we kept going up I-77 (I think)  We got in a traffic jam but we were listening to a funny CD we had bought and the kids were all happy....   Normally I get very annoyed by traffic jams but I was just so happy and we were all laughing, for once it didn't bother me at all. 

We drove up to Ripley WV (which our friends who were here last night HAD just moved from that very week last year)  and spent the night in a great hotel.  We went out to Outback that night and the manager noticed our family.  He had a family member who was special needs also.  He sent our server over to say our dinner was on the house and he sent us some gift certificates.  It was such a kind expression of love that I teared up. 

Our trip just seemed so blessed and peacefully.  I remember feeling like we were just in the palm of God's hand.  All summer I had battled with a fear that something was going to happen to one of my kids.  Several friends of friends had had terrible accidents and I knew of 3 or 4 deaths of children over last summer.  Steve was scheduled to go to Daytona Beach in July and I talked him out of it.  I didn't tell him why, of course, he would have thought I was "cuckoo"     But that seemed all behind us on the trip. 

We had everything ready for the little girls to start therapy as soon as we came back.  The boys were all ready for school to start....I had myriads of specialist's appointments scheduled for the girls for the fall....  We were looking forward to a quick trip up, good news for Sam and hopefully surgery on Sarah's eye....  I'm usually Ms Sensitive but nothing was on my radar, I was just completely happy.   There is always that little fear that something might go wrong with Sam's exam but he seemed fine, his eye looked good, so I wasn't really worried.  I was a bit concerned about whether Sarah would be eligible for the eye implant and if it would work but I felt like all of that would go smoothly....guess I was wrong there too. 

I left my house clean, I had gone grocery shopping right before we left so when we came home we wouldn't be out of everything....School clothes were ready.....everything was in place.....

Oh but our life was about to be turned upside down.......we were about to walk through the darkest valley of our life....

Hold your kids close...you never know what tomorrow might hold....Love them, take a zillion pictures and videos....kiss them....