Maybe it was the date, like an omen haunting us. Two years ago on this same weekend my brother passed away. The events leading up to his passing started the weekend prior when we were camping. I'm not one to be superstitious but I think I may cut the entire August camping thing off my list.
This weekend started out good. We got an early start and had things set up and were kicking back within two hours of arriving. Then the storm warnings started coming through, the wind picked up and the rain started. A few minutes into the storm we all heard a rather large thump and first thought was something bounced off the top of the camper. It wasn't much later that we discovered the thump was the tree branch that hit our truck. Left a nice dent in the hood. A picture was taken and the branch was burned in the fire pit. The rain eventually stopped, the jack & cokes were consumed and the night went on.
The next morning we discovered more damage to the truck. The windshield is cracked and there is another crack in the hood. Never saw it the night before, but there were leaves on the truck and it was raining. I feel fortunate that the falling branch did damage to the truck and not to one of us. The rest of the time spent camping went pretty well. There was a little giddiness at camp as some of the campers were taking off for Vegas later in the day.
When we got home I went to unpack the cooler and when opening the fridge I found it to be warm. The freezer items were still frozen. We ended up loading everything into the downstairs fridge and coolers. The mighty maintenance man found that the compressor was shot. The fridge is around 30 years old and came with the house. It didn't seem worth fixing so off we went to Menards to purchase a new fridge.
Ended up with a very plain fridge. I really didn't have the time to shop around and compare prices and I also knew that there really wasn't anyone around to help him carry the fridge in beside me. All in all I didn't get a fridge that I like very much. I think Barn knew it as we were walking out of the store as he has now doomed us further. "I know that's not the one you wanted but it'll be good in the basement. Plus it came with a 25% in store rebate that I'll be able to buy the sump pump with". I think he may still have the slap marks on his arm. And one should never ask "what's next". On my way to the car I simply looked up toward the sky and said" What else you got? Bring it on!
So, I felt a little sad this morning and I know family members are also still struggling with the loss of our brother/father/son. I have my moments which I thought would go away after a while. Its just not on the date he left us, or his birthday, or holidays. I miss my brother and I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of him in some way. I'll admit I don't cry as much but it still hurts. I don't know what step I'm on as far as the grieving process, but I still can't get past the anger part of it. My day was cheered up a bit with a 5:30 am phone call from my friend/sister-in-law from Vegas. I talk to a lot of people during the course of my day, but it's only a few that can get me out of a funk. I thank GOD everyday that 10 years ago my brother made a very wise choice in marrying her.
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