Saying Good-bye

Last week was a hard one. My family had to say our good-byes to a wonderful man. My Uncle Bobby came home on Oct 30, from his tour as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. He was only home a few hours when he passed away from a heart attack. He had just turn 45. He was my grandma's baby. The baby brother of my mom, my aunt Sandy, and my uncle James. He was the totally devoted husband to my aunt Kim. I still can't even fathom how she is coping with this. He had 2 sons and 2 step-kids.

He retired from the Army after 20 years of service. We all knew how dedicated he was to the Army, but to be able to hear about it from a good friend and someone he served with was just awesome. If he would have stayed in, he could have made the highest enlisted rank possible. He chose to retire and dedicate his life to his family. He chose to do the 2 years in Afghanistan to help put back money so they could live comfortably while he set up his goat farm.

He was a huge Sooner fan. The last time I got to see him, was the weekend that Michael took him to his first football game at OU. He was on top of the world. We were planning a few weeks ago on getting him to another game. He had a certain shirt he wore for each game. He had a blanket he had to have in a certain place. His dog had to wear her bandanna. I remember when he was oversees and on his way back home when he found out my brother was going to OSU. I was staying with my grandma and he called in the middle of the night. I got to talk to him and he was telling me about he would be home his yesterday and my tomorrow. He asked about everyone and I told him Dustin was going to OSU. He was shocked. When he got off the phone he called my mom. She woke up to, "What do you mean he is going to OSU!?!" There were a few calls over the years with a little bit of trash talking!

He was pretty excited when I started dating Michael. Another OU fan. He was so happy for me and Michael that he came to Michael's graduation from Pharmacy school. They even played Boomer Sooner at the cemetery. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

My Uncle Bobby was a big reason that I joined the Guard. I've always respected him and was hoping that I would make him proud to serve as well. I can't say for sure, but I think he had some influence on my brother joining as well. It was pretty touching that my brother, who is now a Chaplain with Army Guard, got to participate in Bobby's service.

His joining the army came from getting into some trouble when he was younger. He stayed out in the country with us before he left. At that time I was 5 and I weighed about the same as ruck sack. So he would run up and down the road with me on his back. I loved it.

I remember when he was in Desert Storm. I remember we had a candlelight vigil thing in the park. I was so proud to wear my shirt that let everyone know that my Uncle Bobby was over there serving our country.

I remember when he met Kim and thinking that she was perfect for him. I remember their wedding. The love that they had for each other. It's never faded.

My heart breaks that my girls won't get to know what a great man he was. My heart breaks that such a wonderful woman has lost her love and her best friend. My heart breaks for his two boys who obviously looked up to him and respected him even though they might not have been as close as they would have liked to have been. It was a bit of a shock for those of us who hadn't seen Wesley in a while. He looks just like his daddy. Both boys followed their dad and are serving in the Army.

I'm glad we got to go to his service. It was beautiful. If you've ever been to a military service then, you know that it is amazing.

So for those of you who made it to the end...go make sure those you love the most know it. Life is not guaranteed and they could be gone a lot sooner than you think.