The Lyons

This past weekend  Sam Lyons graduated from McCallie.   It was a normal matriculation for most people but for us it was a time to celebrate with a family that have become so much a part of our lives.  All three of my boys went to school with one Lyons boy or another over the past eight years.  Two families connected through their sons, holding our hearts together to the point that we would drive 5 hours to see the last Lyons boy graduate from McCallie.

But these were the boys that left everything behind and drove for hours to visit Joe during his last days, to be in attendance at both of his funerals without question.  They were the ones sitting in the chapel for both of his talks.  They are the ones that have taught us loyalty, friendship and the meaning of family.  Sam recorded Joe's service and made copies for us.  It is just what the Lyons family does.

One family with a heart of gold eased another family through grief with such incredible grace. And I tip my hat to the Lyons family for their unending giving of their hearts.

Tough Day

Joe would have graduated today with his UPenn classmates.  I know he walked with them in spirit and with pride today.

Love you lots and miss you tons sweetie.  Mom

The Mom Love

Tonight is chilly by North Carolina standards and I have put on Joe's sweater to keep me warm.  The sweater I bought for him when he went off to UPenn.  The one he wore with his jeans and khakis.   The one he hugged and thanked me for as he went on to his freshman year of college.

Tonight I feel the warmth of his sweater and the bursting pride of him being part of our lives.  We were forever changed by Joe and his bravery facing death.  But our family embraces our own bravery of facing life without Joe welcoming decisions based on that experience of losing a precious part of our family and pushing forward in our own way wrapped in his memory.  

The "Mom Love" never waivers even in the shadow of a loss you will never forget and I am forever grateful for my sons Joe, Tony and David giving me the opportunity to shower them with it everyday. 

Happy Mother's Day 

David's Second Published Poem

Grapefruits
By David Restaino

I smothered butter
Over my Honey Wheat bread
Remembering how you used to sit,
Right there,
Across from me,
Gouging craters into grapefruits
With your spoon.

You jabbed
Into each individual chamber
Its ruby juices bleeding out
And its sinuous pulp tearing.
You ripped out the sliver of
Precious meat before diving again in
A manner that screamed,
"This is how life goes."

I used to think,
When you still sat there,
On the other side of the table,
Before you turned
Your spoon on me,
That against all odds
I wouldn't die alone.

Dangerous Liaisons

I am a forever lover of  ballet.  I fell head over heels with it when my Grandmother took us to see the Nutcracker when I was maybe eight or nine.  The costumes, the lighting and the ballerinas luminous skin was blazed into my memory.  I was amazed with the beauty punctuated by the sound of their toe shoes tapping lightly on the floor.

This past week I was fortunate to experience another ballet that left all in awe.  Dangerous Liaisons,  Sahsa Janes of the North Carolina Ballet Theater latest triumph was at the Knight Theater.  A fifty minute spectacular of striking costumes, complex moves and original cello music.  A night of witnessing a true talent allowing us to feel his passion was breathtaking.

May 2012

The month of May means graduations for Joe's friends from college.  He would have done his slow saunter down the aisle with his cap and gown at UPenn.   All he ever wanted was to graduate.

Joe pushed himself because he wanted to, because it was beyond his grasp and so many things in his life were slipping away.  He did not have control so he created his own way of being in control.  That is the way of illness, of facing death, knowing time is limited.

My dear Joe I know if things were different I would be at UPenn  next weekend watching you walk at graduation.