Can you picture this?

I have been working extremely hard this week trying to put the finishing touches on a web site I have been creating for our local school district. I have a deadline of August 1 and am hoping all well go well. I started this on June 14 – and it has taken the majority of the summer to get this far.

In the midst of this, my daughter Alli’s room is completely ripped apart and all her furniture is in my living room. The room has a curtain over the doorway and drywall dust is everywhere within it. She is in my scrapbook room (the spare bedroom) and since she is 17 needs her privacy. She also needs it because she is engrossed in the latest Harry Potter book – which she just finished tonight! :)

My dining room table is covered with supplies, justjohanna images and various projects I am trying to finish up. Let’s just say life is completely overwhelming right now – and if I add one more thing to my plate – well it’s OVER! :)

My husband Steve walks in with the mail today and the August/September issue of Somerset Studios is in his hands.

I knew there were two pieces in it because they had recently been returned.
I find my grandfather’s piece – a whimsical “Think Pink” on Page 62 that I had made using an old school photo – and I am delighted!

I then flip through to the back of the magazine to page 112 the “Rememberances” section and see my Dad in all his glory. I begin reading the article and start sobbing, barely able to see the text. Tears of joy, sorrow, everything you can imagine.

I emailed Jana Holstein to thank her for making such a beautiful tribute in their magazine and for my family. I know this will be hard for my Mom to see, but she will be pleased. Jana replied that there was also a blurb about it in the Letter from the Editor….which made me cry again. Jana went through something almost identical with her own Dad’s passing. It is hard to put into words unless you have experienced your loved ones last days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

We all have the loss when we lose a loved one, but there is a special bond among those that are actually are present when they leave our world. It is something I have processed for months. It gives me peace but sometimes makes me frightened at ever facing it again. My cousin who works in hospice told me -when you see this, you are a firm believer that there is a God and afterlife in heaven.

I feel so blessed to have my Dad on such a special tribute page. Thank you Somerset Memories!