"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." - 1 Timothy 3:1-5
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How much more clear can it be? This morning our area again awoke to a tragedy, only two weeks since the disappearance of Somer Thompson. In an equally horrific situation, a man apparently went off the "deep end", killed his teen aged son and 11-year old daughter, and then himself, while the mom was in the shower. Hopefully the kids never knew what hit them but oh, the poor mom when she discovered what had happened. It seems they were getting a divorce but still lived under the same roof in an upscale community on Fleming Island. Coincidentally, it is the same neighborhood where my former spouse lives. Besides the horror the mom and extended families are experiencing, the detectives and sheriff's office are just about stretched to the max with all this. A few weeks ago there was a double homicide at a club on Fleming Island where two 24-year old men were stabbed, not necessarily by each other. Law enforcement is pulled every direction with these deaths in our bedroom community, and my heart hurts because of all this!
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In order to be a suitable hostess to my friend, Linda, I went to Publix and stocked up on groceries. While waiting in line at the deli to get my Johnsonville Summer Sausage sliced, I met up with the two attorneys we had done business with for many years, our closing agents. They also rented from us. They still handle my closings although it has been nearly four years since I had one! Anyway, it was nice to see them again. John said he had seen Justin several months ago at a Taylor Swift concert and reported, without my asking, that he was "very well-behaved". What mother does not mind such a report?
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As the young lady unloaded my purchases into the back of my car, I spotted a lady I knew from my neighborhood in Woodlake, Eagle Harbor. We greeted each other, saying how nice it was to see one another again. She asked about my family and I reported how Justin was 22 now and taking classes and working. Sheila asked me about Timmy and then suddenly remembered, but I told her not to be upset, that his situation was far superior to ours! And then, she made a comment which rocked me back on my wheels---she said it is wrong that we have to bury our children. I agreed and she told me that since Sharon died, she makes dinner every day for Jeff and the family.....wait wait wait a minute here! Sharon died???? I had no idea! She had a brain aneurysm while taking a shower and her daughter found her when she got home from school. Wow! That is what I get for not reading the paper! Sharon was only 47 and left three daughters, her youngest graduating from high school this coming spring. Jeff had given up his job, as he had been asked to take a step back in his career and used the year to pick up the pieces and grieve for his wife. Thankfully, Sharon's mom, Sheila, who lost her husband only two months to losing her daughter, lives on the Island and can step in to help like she has.
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Our fun story about how we met Sharon began when we bought our first lot in Eagle Harbor and had our two-story home under construction. My former spouse and Justin, then about 6 or 7, had climbed up into the house and were on the second floor but Justin froze when it was time to climb back down again. What to do??? The neighbors had just moved in across the street and I spotted Sharon in her garage. She let us borrow an extension ladder and that is how Justin got down from the rafters in the house. He played with their kids as long as we lived there, since once we moved in, it sold seven weeks later. Then we had to rent over in Peters Creek, where Judy J. lives. I had seen Sharon at the airport one time when Mom was heading back to WI and we chatted a bit. She and her co-workers were traveling for business, I think, and it was just so fun to run into someone you know at the airport. I get a kick out of it anyway, and I remember Mom saying something like, "You can never go anywhere and not know somebody!" Small world and fond memories. Sheila was not aware that I was not married any longer so we each had surprises today. Some good, some not so good---life on Fleming Island!
