Rick

I have a lot of thoughts that I want to capture so this will be more like a journal entry. I'll start writing about fun stuff again soon, I promise.

Rick died Sunday afternoon from complications from pneumonia but really, it was the stupid, crappy lung cancer's fault. Despite the sadness I'm feeling, there is much that I'm overwelmingly grateful for today:

• I'm grateful that Rick is no longer in pain and he no longer has to fight for each breath
• I'm grateful that there were such attentive nurses and doctors to care for him throughout his illness
• I'm grateful that I was able to be at the hospital all weekend and to help make things even a tiny bit easier for this sweet family
• I'm grateful to have been in the room with Rick as he peacefully passed away and to have an almost spiritual experience as I watched his spirit leave his body
• I'm grateful for my own friends and family who have prayed for Michelle and Rick, even though some of them hardly know her and most have never met him. At the risk of sounding like that other blog, I am seriously so blessed!
• I'm grateful for the resiliency and strength of their beautiful daughter.
• I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to know Rick's siblings and two best friends this weekend. I loved hearing funny stories about Rick in his formative years.
• I'm grateful for Heavenly Father inspiring me to ask Rick's grieving mom to help me clean out Michelle's fridge yesterday. It was helpful to be able to focus on something other than our sadness for awhile.
• I'm grateful to my mom for having just what Michelle needed yesterday
• I'm grateful to Sheryl for taking over my Sharing Time responsibilities. What a blessing it is to serve with her!
• I'm grateful that I was able to point out to Michelle, who isn't LDS, all of the times Heavenly Father has touched her life throughout Rick's illness. She is understandably having moments of doubt and I'm thankful that she has turned to me during this ordeal to provide some spiritual strength. It was a great reminder to me that we must always be prepared and we can never "coast" on our testimonies because we never know when they'll be needed to lift someone else.

Rick was a wonderful husband, father, brother, son and friend. He had a fantastic sense of humor that would surprise me because he was quiet and unassuming. Michelle has always called me "Jeanellie" (and I call her Michelley.) Whenever I would call, he'd always say "hi Jeanellie," which always sounded funny coming from a grown man. He would then say to Michelle, "your dingy friend is on the phone." It was a term of endearment because I was special to him and it always made me laugh.

He was always doing thoughtful things for people he loved. Michelle was surprised with at least three Coach purses on various holidays, the lucky girl. She and I go shopping in Portland every December and whenever she'd drive, he'd always make sure the car was ready and he'd put Rain-X on the windshield for us (because hello, it rains here a lot.) I bought a used dining room table from a friend of theirs and before I could take it home, Rick insisted on refinishing it for me.

Rick loved his family so much and they were always, always number one in his life. He was a doting father to his daughter and a best friend to Michelle. I feel so lucky to have known Rick.