The other day I was looking at Facebook and saw that one of Timmy's classmates from St. Johns was celebrating his 18th birthday. He is the grandson of my downstairs neighbor, Judee, on whose FB page I saw the pictures. A couple times a year I get to see Brooks, and did just see his dad within the past couple of weeks. I believe I mentioned it here in this blog, how Justin and I rode upstairs in silence after speaking with him, each of us 'afraid' to say anything, thinking about Timmy. Therefore, my seeing Brooks' birthday photos was bittersweet.
In my memory box on the hall table is the wooden train whistle that Timmy got as a souvenir from the first and only kids' birthday party Timmy attended. It was a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed party, hence, the whistle. That day the boys had two parties to attend and since Brooks' house was closer to the office, my former spouse chose that party. It was only later that he realized that parents generally stayed with their kids for the parties. I had taken Justin to a party off of Camp Johnson Road, where there was a magician performing for the birthday boy.
Brooks' name is on the lower left border of this piece of artwork, and has been here in the past few years to see it, forgetting about doing this those many years ago. Merrick's name is next to Brooks'---his dad is mentioned below.
Friday I went to the groomers and got my haircut, stopping at Publix on the way back home. As I was getting my cart, I met the dad of one of Timmy's classmates from Child Time and from St. Johns. Their family were our neighbors in The Preserve, plus my friend, Jen, used to be the nanny to Terry's sons, so I knew them fairly well. It was good to see him again, and he reported his boys are doing well.
Here are Christopher and Merrick jumping into my pool at the lake house
Inside the store, I encountered Justin's pre-k teacher, a dear lady who is always so sweet and kind to me. We had a great visit, shared some tears, and it was so very nice to chat with her. She misses her grandkids, none of whom live in this area, but her husband is not ready yet to retire. Two of her daughters live in the same town in NJ, totally by 'accident', with the cousins attending school together. Another of her kids lives in AL, not too far away. She told me how wonderful it was for me to have Justin right under my roof!
The reason I was at the store in the first place was to pick up some steaks for Justin to make for our dinner. He had sent me a text message asking me to pick up something good and he would cook it for our dinner. I chose steak and baked potatoes, the steaks he would pan fry. Sure wish we had a grille!
Before dinner, however, I joined my neighbors and friends around the pool for our final cabana happy hour of the season. We had a good turnout, but Betty and Kathy were not there, which was odd. (Heard later they came out after I had gone in). Justin sent me a text message saying he was ready to begin the meal so I said 'good night' to my tablemates and headed toward The Palace. At the gate to the stairs I met Judee, whose grandson's birthday was posted on FB. She told me she had been thinking about me and gave me a big hug. Of course, a few more tears found their way out. I love that others still remember and think about us after all these years. Warms my heart....and wets my cheeks.
