Monday, June 23, 2008

Trying to Stay Calm

It has been really hard for me to make myself put a new post on my blog. There is so much to say, but it is so hard to put it all to words. This has been hard, very hard, and very ugly, yet there has been beauty and radiant good. My heart aches for my mom - I miss her so much - but my heart aches for my dad. He is doing so well and I am so proud of him. He is trying so hard and he is such an example to us all. I'm so overwhelmed by the help from my sweet husband, from my kids, from my sisters, from aunts, uncles and friends. It is really taking a village to put us all back together. We're moving forward, tiny steps forward.... I needed to write an article for the two local newspapers, Summit County Bee and The Park Record for my dad. I thought I would post it here because a lot of my feelings were expressed in it.



The death of our wife, mother, grandmother,
sister and daughter
Saundra Stephens Toole
was devastating and very emotional for our family.
The loving and joyous memories of her
will sustain us in the days to come and
we are finding healing in God’s tender embrace
and in knowing others remembered and cared.
We sincerely thank those in the community for your kind
expressions of sympathy;
cards, letters, phone calls, flowers,
donations to the scholarship fund, food, and many more gestures.
Most of all, for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
We have come to believe through this experience
that there can be solace, that all things are possible,
that life is precious, that peace is reasonable, that
laughter is special, that blessings are divine
and most of all that love is grand.
We have all been touched by your kindnesses,
The Immediate and Extended Families of
Saundra and Doug Toole

Peonies for Mom's Grave



4 comments:

Nat said...

That's really neat. The flowers on Grandma's grave are so pretty. See you in a couple of days! Love you.

Tamara Jacobs said...

wow mom. That was a beautiful article. Love you.

Sara Jane said...

Mel, I just want to thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your family is in my prayers always and I hope that things are getting a little easier. There are so many people that love you and want to help through this trying time. I'm glad that you have felt that. Aunt Saundra was the best and left an impression on anyone that she met. I still cry sometimes when I think about her and I'm sure there will always be a few tears, but what a great impression she has left on a lot of people, including myself, and because of her I want to step up and be a better person and be beter about keeping in touch with my family. I love you and hope that the pain and the void will get easier. There may always be a void, but the pain can be healed and our burdens made lighter. Thank you for your continual example of being steadfast.

Sara

AnnDeO said...

Hey Mel,
Amazing, you did a great job! Who could have ever thought this is what we would be working through this summer. I hope you are having fun. We took dad fishing last night and he caught two fish. It was nice.
Dee