Jimmy
January 27, 1953 - March 2, 2006

When I am gone, release me, let me go. I have so many things to see and do. You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears, be happy we had so many years. I gave you my love, you can only guess how much you gave me in happiness. I thank you for the love you each have shown, but now it’s time I traveled on alone. I won’t be far away, for life goes on. So if you need me, call and I will come. Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near. If you listen with your heart you’ll hear all of my love soft and clear. And then, when you must come this way alone, I’ll greet you with a smile and say “WELCOME HOME”.

Today was the viewing for my uncle Jimmy. It was weird seeing him there in that casket. They did a wonderful job with dressing him up and everything, but it wasn’t the same. Jimmy wasn’t Jimmy without a smile on his face. He wasn’t the same person that used to follow us nieces around saying, “Gimme some sugar!”

They bought him a nice pen to put in the pocket of his shirt. He always walked around with a pen in the front pocket of his shirt. He had a nice wallet with pictures of everyone in it, and he is going to be buried with a book his girlfriend gave him (in high school, I believe).

My grandma kept telling me that she just wanted to die and my grandpa cried for only the second time I’ve ever seen in my whole life. He said that it should have been him up there in the casket. He told me how when I was real young, he took me to the grocery store and put me up on the counter (with the conveyor belt) and I rode along with the groceries. He said that it was that day that he gave me my first piece of chewing gum ever. I’ve never seen him so wistful.

Oh, and in case you were wondering… He died of a blood clot. It was in his leg, and apparently it burst or something and went into his lungs. It was nearly instantaneous. The only thing that makes me feel better is that I know he’s not suffering.