Hard Things and Memories
It has been a minute since I've written here. Life kind of gets in the way. It has been a hard few years. For all of us. This year has been especially hard for the Smith side of my family. That is my mom and dad. At the beginning of the year, we got the tragic news that my dear Uncle Roger committed suicide. It was devastating for our whole family. It left us with many questions because he did not leave a note and did not have his affairs in order. My mom is the youngest of 7 siblings. My Uncle Johnny died when he was 16 years old. My mom was about 6 when he died. We lost my Uncle Jerry last year. My Aunt Othella, Aunt Betty and Uncle Jimmy are in declining health. My mom has had a hard time. Carl and I drove my mom to West Virginia in March to go through my Uncle Roger's house. It was a bittersweet trip. He had been the one to take care of my grandparents before they died. He was the keeper of all the family heirlooms. There we...