sad news

Back in my Darby days... Michael and I rarely did things together as a family. Most of the time, if we were together, it was some family function where my presence was requested. A great number of those times involved NASCAR and grilling out at his brother Tim's house.

Tim was such a character. I adored him from day one. Michael made all these apologies about his brother being a big redneck, living in a double wide trailer, etc. The truth was ... I was more comfortable around Tim than I was around Michael. Tim never put on airs... he was who he was without apology. He was an incredible single dad to little Elijah. Tim kept a spotless house. He liked to have a good time but he went to work every day and worked hard. He may have been eccentric, but he was a lot of fun.

When my life fell apart and I found myself in ICU with a nurse constantly watching over me as I drifted in and out of consciousness... one of the first things I remember was opening my eyes and seeing Tim, sitting quietly and patiently at the foot of my bed holding a bible. Tim had newly returned to the Lord and was living a Christian life. He had a message for me, I'm sure... but I was too out of it for him to share it that day. After that... I packed up and moved to Georgia and Tim never shared his message with me. Many times I've wanted to call Tim up... or write to Tim... but I have sort of lived by the idea of leaving Michael's family alone. They're his support team, I have my own.

Yesterday Tim came to mind and I googled his name. I found an obituary. Tim died back in May. I didn't know. It was bizarre to me that Michael thought it important enough to call and tell me when he and Andrea broke up - at my predicted 2 1/2 years, as usual for his relationships - but he didn't think it would matter to me that Tim died. Tim was 45 years old. He was the only brother in law I've ever had and I'm sad that he's gone... but glad to know he's with the Lord.

His son Elijah, who I absolutely adored... his mom isn't around. I could imagine Tim's daughter, Charity, who is about 24, taking care of her bubba. Pray for them... and for their brother Christopher. Tim loved his kids. It's just so sad.

And today is Friday. I turn in my event monitor today. I learned a lot about my heart rate over the past two weeks and I hope this will be helpful to the doctor. Yesterday my feet and legs started swelling.... I went to bed at 8pm and I'm still really swollen. I didn't eat anything that I would think would cause swelling... lunch was chicken salad over almond crackers, a container of yogurt and a pear. My legs didn't start swelling until late afternoon. I'll call the doctor today and make sure it's not something to worry about... but I'm worried.

It's almost 5am... it will be yabba dabba do time in 12 and a half hours... y'all have a great Friday!