Smile4me-4ever...

MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC

We went to see Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristy at there home in Kalamazoo. When I first entered this family, we had family reunions and it was great fun. Grama Wittum enjoyed them and I honestly believed that we did it only for her. Duane was very close to his Gram and it was a great loss for him. Duane doesn't have a big family and losing Gram was like losing all his family in one person. She was all he needed in a family. I was so thankful to be a part of his life when he lost her. I honestly think, if it had happened years before it would of even been harder for him. Not to toot my own horn so to speak, but I know Duane and losing her could of destroyed him. He has regrets in his life and yet he was able to make peace with many things before losing Gram. I know having me and my family and the 2 of us being in the state we are, happy that is, helped him to be able to get through it. He has his cousin Tommy, whom he loves as a brother as well. We get together with him and Maria almost every weekend. So they helped him too. The one person who he has respected and loved from afar has been Unlce Mike. I don't think Uncle Mike will ever really understand how much Duane loves him and respects him, but he does. He is Gram and Grampa all in one. He has the best of them inside of him. He sees them both in Uncle Mike and he feels that Uncle Mike and him have many things in common, one of them things being there love for Gram and Grampa, as for the respect for them that they instilled in them through the years of them loving him. Duane still misses them both very much and he knows of all people Uncle Mike knows what he's going through. He misses the good they both represented and the love that they shared not only for there family but for human beings in general. They were just good people. Always knowing how to guide you in a way that was best for you, loving you unconditionally, even though you knew that you disappointed them. I never got to meet Grampa, but I can tell you stories about him and I know what kind of man he was and I learned that and still learn more and more everyday. It is so important to Duane to keep ties to Uncle Mike because he knows he shares the same heart as Gram and Grampa. So going to Uncle Mike's was a wonderful thing for Duane and I. We don't get to see one another very often, we don't live close and lives go so fast, that sometimes its just hard to get together. When we got together, I could see how much it meant to Duane to be there and I know, he missed Gram and Grampa terribly being there. He talked most of the evening about him and Uncle Mike's talks throughout the day and it means the world to me for him to be able to share that time with them. One of the many things I love about Duane, the love of his family and it was no clearer to me how happy he was to be there. I was as well, I enjoy them both and I understand why he loves them so much. We had a great day and I hope we can get together more often. It was worth the 2 1/2 hour drive there to see them, to see the smile on Duane's face, cuz it will last a very long time. Here are a few pics of our day!

Duane at Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristy's House in Kalamazoo. What a fun day that was!

Aunt Kristy and Uncle Mike, they are both wonderful people and let me tell you, I have never seen 2 people more in love with one another, or at least thats what it looks like to me *haha* I could watch the 2 of them for hours, they make me feel good. Each time I see them, I just feel like they have the love people are suppose to have for one another. Its just wonderful to see.

The whole Clan...Chris, Duane, Me, Judy, Jason, Maria, Tommy, Madison, Millie, Tara, Mike and Kristy!

Tommy and Duane...Aren't they handsome? No, I am not blind... I just love them fella's!

Tommy and Maria...Boy, I just love it when they are smiling and lookin so happy. It's been a very long time since I have seen anything but happy faces from them. So life is good. Love you guys!