On Friday, January 30, my brother Jimmy lost his battle to cancer.
Well, it wasn't really a battle. He did not choose to fight.
He was like that. The only fight he ever had in him was when he was a much younger spit-fire or when he served in the VietNam War as a Marine.
He was a good guy and I will miss him dearly. But this post is not about him. That will be later.
This post is about selflessness. Doing something for someone else and not expecting anything in return. Doing what your heart tells you to do... Going out of your way for someone.
I don't often talk about my husbands selflessness... mainly because he rants and raves and complains a lot and that causes me to not want to talk about all the good stuff.
*insert chuckle here*
But
I do want to take this time to thank you Gary for the past several months of love and compassion. For being there for me when I needed you and being somewhere else when I needed to be alone. For understanding.
For the chocolate you bought me this past week when I was sick with the flu and for the hot chicken noodle soup you brought home to me.
But even more importantly than that:
My two youngest kids had not been able to see their Uncle Jim and had no way of getting there (Hanover, PA) to see him.
You volunteered.
Now, this drive is not so easy for you with your own physical problems, but you did not complain. You were glad to see them visit with their uncle one last time.
Selflessness
That day will live in their hearts and mine forever. We had a great visit. And it would be the last time any of us would see him again.
This post goes out to you, my husband, my best friend, the one I admire and adore. I have seen your tears too, and I know you loved Jimmy. But you stood in the shadows, helping out when you could. You were so good to him and he always appreciated your gift of friendship. Jimmy never once hung up the phone without asking how is Gary and tell him 'hey'.
Jimmy will be greatly missed, but before this day went any further I wanted to thank you Gary for your part in my life. You do so much, and often it may seem that it goes unnoticed. It does not. I love and appreciate you.
