Forget me not...

For about a week I avoided making this card.  One of my best friends, Mellisa, lost her dad Dave this past week.  Dave and his wife Cheryl were living angels to my family some years back.  I have Crohn's Disease and my husband is in the Navy, so when I am sick and have to be put in the hospital, this isn't a good combination.  I am in the hospital usually for 4 weeks, and my husband can't take that much time off of work, its just not allowed and unheard of in the military.  One time he was out to sea and I was going to die unless I was admitted, I had an abcess in my intestines the size of a grapefruit, which is very dangerous.  Mellisa said for me not to worry about it, that she would take care of the kids and she would send a red cross message to the sub.  Mellisa had a full time job, but she called her parents into action to help.  Jess got home in a few days, but when the sub came back he had to go to back to work.  Dave and Cheryl, drove an hour to my house to take my daughter to school and to keep Jacob during the day, {he was 1 at the time} while Jess was at work, and then they would drive an hour back home.  They did this for the month I was in the hospital.  I was living in Connecticut at the time and my entire family lives in CA, so no one could come out to help {well my dad did, but how do you ask someone to stay for over a month? When they need to work too?}  Dave was a retired Navy chief and new my family needed help, and because I was his daughter's friend I was now a part of his family.  The wonderful thing the military gives you is this huge family of people who will do anything for you, no questions asked.  Its really hard to put into words, it just the best second family ever. 

So I finally sat down and made this for Cheryl, Dave wasn't a fancy guy so this needed to be simple but pretty.  I think I accomplished that.  I now need to write her a note, but what do you say to someone who just lost the love of their life?  I guess just that I will never ever in my life forget him and the generosity of time he took to help me and my family.