PRINCESS AND PIRATES

Milton, here for Kristy:

I have determined to celebrate Kristy even through the tears. Tears come in waves as memories flood my mind. If I allow them to, they become bitterly brutal very quickly. Darkness tries to settle in my spirit with gloom and despair. But there is a way out and that is to release all those feelings and turn to the sweetness of our memories and then celebrate.




I'm a gourmet cook of the finest cereals.
Aren't kitchens hallways that lead to dining tables?
How did all those groceries turn into delicious meals?
How do you polish this furniture?
I'll ask Kristy....oh
Where did she store that.....?
We did that together when we were there....
Where did she keep the Thank You cards?
Go ask Kristy......?
She be back in a minute.....?
I'll call her....


Every thought could be pain or they could turn into whatever I choose them to become. I choose the celebration of life.


Our master walk-in-closet has two parts. As you walk into the closet, you find all of Kristy's clothes hanging, purses, shoes, etc., Then you pass through another door to my side of the closet. I have to walk past all her clothes every time I go get dressed. Our closet is neat, organized and efficient. That's Kristy. But right now, it is a closet of pain.

She thinned her closet of clothes months before her passing. She began giving special pieces of her jewelry to her sister and sister-in-laws. It was awful to watch this process. Terrible! I begged her to wait.

"Your going to get better," I would tell Kristy. "Wait and we'll give that to our children years from now," I hoped and prayed.

This past Friday when I returned home from taking the kiddies to the zoo, I walked into our master bedroom closet to change. I stepped through her closet toward my closet and the pain began to pulse through my body. "I can turn this into celebration or allow brutal pain to rule," I thought.

I got the girls and Sis and the sister-in-laws and they went on a free shopping spree. Purses, shoes, belts, robes, sweaters, all were flying around in that closet. It was better than a "blue light" special at Walmart. Tears turned into celebration as they helped each other choose items they liked.

"Get her jewelry," I told Julie and Jennifer. "Finish picking out what you want and then give the pieces you know your mom wanted her sister and sister-in-laws and my mother to have." Necklaces, bracelets, rings, ear rings, were selected with everybody choosing there favorite remembrance from Kristy. The jewelry department opened for a day in Kristy's bedroom.

Now the jewelry was alive and shining on necks and ears, and wrists and fingers. Joy was flowing through hearts and minds and memories. We were celebrating her life and memories were sweetly flooding every heart.

"Separate the nicer costume jewelry from the lessor pieces and go get the grands," I said. Claudia, Lorenzo, Nic and Alex came into the bedroom. I told my daughters, "Help them pick out things to enjoy." They began to go through the remaining jewelry and place them on fingers, ears, and necks. The older boys wanted to wear it, but they're boys and boys don't wear "girly" jewelry.

Norma said, "Alex. Nic. Don't you remember how the pirates wore the jewelry that they captured?"

"Yes," they both said as smiles lit their faces and necklaces, bracelets, rings, and ear rings were put on. They were pirates of the Caribbean and they looked around for their swords.

The kiddies were having a ball. There were no tears. It was celebration. In a few minutes the kiddies were all leaving. They have all cried and cried in recent partings, but this time the pirates and little princess eyes and faces were all gleaming. The princess and pirates loaded up with jewelry and swords headed toward home celebrating Nana, Nana, Nana, Nana.

Brutal tears were turned into celebration and sweet memories.

Can you see that necklace Norma is wearing? That's Kristy's. She was special.