This will be my last Caring Bridge post.  Dan's funeral was yesterday and it was absolutely, exactly as he would have wanted it.  It can be viewed for 90 days here. 

I shared with each of the children today that I wanted to keep their Dad alive by talking about him.  They each agreed.  Ethan would like to put his ashes in a Christmas ornament for the tree.  The Christmas tree was always Dan's gift to me.  He got everything out of the attic, unpacked it, carefully unwrapped each special ornament for the family tree decorating night.  I LOVED it and he knew it! 

Grieving the loss of him is going to take time.  I want to believe that I can do this, but I'm not so confident yet.  Honestly, being alone is really difficult for me.  Please feel free to call, text, or even just stop by the house.  I do have Ethan and Karla at home, so that will help. The children will each grieve in their own way as I will too.  Our cat, Moses is even grieving. He walks through the house meowing. My poor kitty. 

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.  The hard, unbelievable days are ahead of me....I know. I'm not ready, but I don't think you can ever be ready for something like this.  

Helen was able to successfully watch the LIVE Stream of the Funeral.  She thought it was an excellent service that honored her son.  I'm so glad she got to have that closure. I plan to go see her this week and get her moved to her new long term care facility.  I hope the move is easy for her and she makes some friends quickly. 

This is my last post.  My hope is to turn this Caring Bridge into a keepsake book for me. I haven't gone back and read the 63 journal entries. That will take a long time for me to tackle. 

I hope that anyone reading this will be more prepared for the next Acute Myeloid Leukemia experience. I wouldn't wish it on anyone! Orange is the color for Leukemia....think of Dan if you wear that color. 

🧡Stacey