2014-044 Connections

Shirlee died this morning. The two months she thought she had left turned out to be only a week.

The photo is from November 2012 during her three-year reprieve from the pancreatic cancer that spawned the cancers that finally killed her. A character, yea verily.

Shirlee rallied a bit yesterday evening and was thoroughly herself when Corky and I spoke with her by phone. She and Corky talked first. By time I got on the line she was sounding tired. She told me to take good care of Corky. Keep that relationship strong, she said. She was somber, but not morose. Every day has been a gift these last four years; she was grateful for the time she had been given.

So am I. It was great fun having her take us all over the place when we visited each Thanksgiving in those intervening years. I took lots of pictures. We drove, we walked, she and Corky and I. We laughed. She took us to Dirty John's (more politely known as John's Grocery) to buy good beer in the cavernous beer room.

Last Thanksgiving I did the driving but we still got around. I bought a pair of beer glasses at Dirty John's. One came back to Rochester; one stayed in Iowa City.

The subject line of Bruce's email this morning was simply, "She's gone".

I miss her.

Connections.


Today's prompt from writealm.com/february-prompt-a…