OT - I'm Back

> Well it has been an extremely hectic two weeks with lots of tears, stress
> and emotions that I cannot even begin to describe. We made it to Little Rock
> without a hitch. Our oldest son, our daughter and her baby flew down with us
> and youngest son met us by the airport. So we all drove to my oldest
> brothers' house from there. We got there just in time to say "hi" to
> everyone, change clothes and head for the funeral home. They had the casket
> open for family viewing so I at least got to see my brother one last time.
> It was just so surreal. I still can't believe he's gone. To give you an idea
> of the goodness in him, there were over 1000 people that showed up for
> visitation, many stood in line for over 2 hours in the sweltering heat to
> pay their respects. Visitation was supposed to be from 5-8 but we didn't get
> out of there until almost 10:00pm. My OB (oldest brother) rode YB's (younger
> brother) motorcycle in and had it parked at the end of his casket.

>
> The funeral home was packed for the funeral too. A lot of their motorcycle
> buddies led the procession from the funeral home to the cemetery and I think
> there were over a hundred bikes there. It was amazing. I was really upset
> that morning because it rained and I didn't want the burial to be marred by
> rain. But it quit raining by the time we got to the cemetery.

>
> We found out that one of the witnesses to the accident is a good friend of
> my parents and another witness is a friend and co-worker of my cousin's
> husband. The co-worker is also a first responder and EMT. So YB was in good
> hands and was alone on the highway. The police caught the truck driver,
> arrested her and impounded her truck. I don't know yet if they will file
> charges against her or not, that is up to the prosecuting attorney. She
> denied even seeing the my brother or the motorcycle but the witnesses said
> there is no way the she could have NOT seen it. The only thing we can figure
> out is that she fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the median into YB's
> lane. He locked up the wheels on his bike when he saw her and swerved into
> the other lane then laid his bike down. The witness said he absolutely did
> everything right to avoid a collision. It's just a shame that it cost him
> his life. I still can't believe he's gone and I saw him in the casket and
> touched his cold lifeless hand but it's still not real.

>
> Then Friday morning I sent DH and YS off to Dallas since DH had to help his
> parents load up the truck with household goods to move back to Minnesota.
> Saturday morning OS, daughter and baby went to the airport where I sent them
> back to New York and I went to Dallas to catch up with DH. Linda, I'm so
> sorry that I didn't have time to call you but our plans just got totally
> changed when I got word of the accident. So we packed up the truck and left
> early Sunday morning for Minnesota. FIL and I switched off driving the car
> and DH and his oldest brother, who flew down from MN, switched off driving
> the truck. We got into his sister's house Monday night, unloaded the truck
> Tuesday and rested a bit Wednesday. I did get to go to Hancock's in Crystal
> on Wednesday and bought several yards of fabric.
>
> Then Wednesday night our friend from Council Bluffs drove up to pick us up
> since we were flying out of Omaha to come home. We left Thursday to go to
> CB. Friday she and I hit Hancock's there and I got a several more pieces of
> fabric. Then Saturday we went to the zoo for some fun that didn't require
> much thinking. We saw Deep Sea in 3D at the Imax. It was great. We flew out
> of Omaha yesterday at 3:00. At some point DH got a message from our daughter
> to call her at work so when we got to Chicago I called her to see what was
> up. Things have not been going well at all for her with her boyfriend and
> his mother. So we told her that if she ever needed to get out she could
> always come back home. So she called to say that she needed to take us up
> on our offer of a place to stay. So this morning DH went over and got her
> and the baby and they are now living with us again. I'm glad to have her out
> of that house and situation.

>
> Now comes the hard part though. It has been really difficult putting on a
> happy face the past week when all I really wanted to do was lay down and cry
> until there were no more tears. It was so hard to see DH and his brothers
> together and be reminded that my brother is gone. Even though I have DH, my
> oldest son and daughter here, my family, as in parents, brother and sister
> are all within an hour of each other. They have each other as a support
> system and I feel so totally left out and alone. How pathetic does that
> sound?!! But what sounds even more pathetic is the fact that I get so angry
> sometimes that someone as good as my brother was taken so tragically and so
> young when evil people like my DH's ex and Candy's mother are left here to
> continue their reign of evilness. Where is the justice? Brother was a helper
> and the sheer number of people who turned out for visitation and the
> funeral are a testament to his life and the people he touched.

> Yet DH's ex
> is still walking the earth continuing to come between DH and his girls and
> Candy's mother is still here causing problems so that we don't get to see
> Logan as much as we should.

>
> Ok I've ranted enough. I do want to thank all of you for the hugs, prayers,
> good thoughts and all the support you have sent my way. It really meant a
> lot to me and to just say thanks seems so inadequate but I do want to thank
> you all from the bottom of my heart. I will continue to hold all that
> support in my heart in the dark days to come and I know there will be dark
> days because the depression has already set in. I just have to deal with it
> now. Thanks for listening everyone and thanks for letting me get this out.
> I'm off to take a nap while the babies are asleep. I'm exhausted.

> Well it has been an extremely hectic two weeks with lots of tears, stress
> and emotions that I cannot even begin to describe. We made it to Little Rock
> without a hitch. Our oldest son, our daughter and her baby flew down with us
> and youngest son met us by the airport. So we all drove to my oldest
> brothers' house from there. We got there just in time to say "hi" to
> everyone, change clothes and head for the funeral home. They had the casket
> open for family viewing so I at least got to see my brother one last time.
> It was just so surreal. I still can't believe he's gone. To give you an idea
> of the goodness in him, there were over 1000 people that showed up for
> visitation, many stood in line for over 2 hours in the sweltering heat to
> pay their respects. Visitation was supposed to be from 5-8 but we didn't get
> out of there until almost 10:00pm. My OB (oldest brother) rode YB's (younger
> brother) motorcycle in and had it parked at the end of his casket.
>
> The funeral home was packed for the funeral too. A lot of their motorcycle
> buddies led the procession from the funeral home to the cemetery and I think
> there were over a hundred bikes there. It was amazing. I was really upset
> that morning because it rained and I didn't want the burial to be marred by
> rain. But it quit raining by the time we got to the cemetery.
>
> We found out that one of the witnesses to the accident is a good friend of
> my parents and another witness is a friend and co-worker of my cousin's
> husband. The co-worker is also a first responder and EMT. So YB was in good
> hands and was alone on the highway. The police caught the truck driver,
> arrested her and impounded her truck. I don't know yet if they will file
> charges against her or not, that is up to the prosecuting attorney. She
> denied even seeing the my brother or the motorcycle but the witnesses said
> there is no way the she could have NOT seen it. The only thing we can figure
> out is that she fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the median into YB's
> lane. He locked up the wheels on his bike when he saw her and swerved into
> the other lane then laid his bike down. The witness said he absolutely did
> everything right to avoid a collision. It's just a shame that it cost him
> his life. I still can't believe he's gone and I saw him in the casket and
> touched his cold lifeless hand but it's still not real.
>
> Then Friday morning I sent DH and YS off to Dallas since DH had to help his
> parents load up the truck with household goods to move back to Minnesota.
> Saturday morning OS, daughter and baby went to the airport where I sent them
> back to New York and I went to Dallas to catch up with DH. Linda, I'm so
> sorry that I didn't have time to call you but our plans just got totally
> changed when I got word of the accident. So we packed up the truck and left
> early Sunday morning for Minnesota. FIL and I switched off driving the car
> and DH and his oldest brother, who flew down from MN, switched off driving
> the truck. We got into his sister's house Monday night, unloaded the truck
> Tuesday and rested a bit Wednesday. I did get to go to Hancock's in Crystal
> on Wednesday and bought several yards of fabric.
>
> Then Wednesday night our friend from Council Bluffs drove up to pick us up
> since we were flying out of Omaha to come home. We left Thursday to go to
> CB. Friday she and I hit Hancock's there and I got a several more pieces of
> fabric. Then Saturday we went to the zoo for some fun that didn't require
> much thinking. We saw Deep Sea in 3D at the Imax. It was great. We flew out
> of Omaha yesterday at 3:00. At some point DH got a message from our daughter
> to call her at work so when we got to Chicago I called her to see what was
> up. Things have not been going well at all for her with her boyfriend and
> his mother. So we told her that if she ever needed to get out she could
> always come back home. So she called to say that she needed to take us up
> on our offer of a place to stay. So this morning DH went over and got her
> and the baby and they are now living with us again. I'm glad to have her out
> of that house and situation.
>
> Now comes the hard part though. It has been really difficult putting on a
> happy face the past week when all I really wanted to do was lay down and cry
> until there were no more tears. It was so hard to see DH and his brothers
> together and be reminded that my brother is gone. Even though I have DH, my
> oldest son and daughter here, my family, as in parents, brother and sister
> are all within an hour of each other. They have each other as a support
> system and I feel so totally left out and alone. How pathetic does that
> sound?!! But what sounds even more pathetic is the fact that I get so angry
> sometimes that someone as good as my brother was taken so tragically and so
> young when evil people like my DH's ex and Candy's mother are left here to
> continue their reign of evilness. Where is the justice? Brother was a helper
> and the sheer number of people who turned out for visitation and the
> funeral are a testament to his life and the people he touched. Yet DH's ex
> is still walking the earth continuing to come between DH and his girls and
> Candy's mother is still here causing problems so that we don't get to see
> Logan as much as we should.
>
> Ok I've ranted enough. I do want to thank all of you for the hugs, prayers,
> good thoughts and all the support you have sent my way. It really meant a
> lot to me and to just say thanks seems so inadequate but I do want to thank
> you all from the bottom of my heart. I will continue to hold all that
> support in my heart in the dark days to come and I know there will be dark
> days because the depression has already set in. I just have to deal with it
> now. Thanks for listening everyone and thanks for letting me get this out.
> I'm off to take a nap while the babies are asleep. I'm exhausted.
>
> Hugs,
> Mika

>Well it has been an extremely hectic two weeks with lots of tears, =

>and emotions that I cannot even begin to describe. We made it to Little =

>without a hitch. Our oldest son, our daughter and her baby flew down =

>and youngest son met us by the airport. So we all drove to my oldest
>brothers' house from there. We got there just in time to say "hi" to
>everyone, change clothes and head for the funeral home. They had the =

>open for family viewing so I at least got to see my brother one last =

>It was just so surreal. I still can't believe he's gone. To give you an =

>of the goodness in him, there were over 1000 people that showed up for
>visitation, many stood in line for over 2 hours in the sweltering heat =

>pay their respects. Visitation was supposed to be from 5-8 but we didn't=

>out of there until almost 10:00pm. My OB (oldest brother) rode YB's =

>brother) motorcycle in and had it parked at the end of his casket.
>The funeral home was packed for the funeral too. A lot of their =

>buddies led the procession from the funeral home to the cemetery and I =

>there were over a hundred bikes there. It was amazing. I was really =

>that morning because it rained and I didn't want the burial to be marred=

>rain. But it quit raining by the time we got to the cemetery.
>We found out that one of the witnesses to the accident is a good friend =

>my parents and another witness is a friend and co-worker of my cousin's
>husband. The co-worker is also a first responder and EMT. So YB was in =

>hands and was alone on the highway. The police caught the truck driver,
>arrested her and impounded her truck. I don't know yet if they will file
>charges against her or not, that is up to the prosecuting attorney. She
>denied even seeing the my brother or the motorcycle but the witnesses =

>there is no way the she could have NOT seen it. The only thing we can =

>out is that she fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the median into =

>lane. He locked up the wheels on his bike when he saw her and swerved =

>the other lane then laid his bike down. The witness said he absolutely =

>everything right to avoid a collision. It's just a shame that it cost =

>his life. I still can't believe he's gone and I saw him in the casket =

>touched his cold lifeless hand but it's still not real.
>Then Friday morning I sent DH and YS off to Dallas since DH had to help =

>parents load up the truck with household goods to move back to =

>Saturday morning OS, daughter and baby went to the airport where I sent =

>back to New York and I went to Dallas to catch up with DH. Linda, I'm so
>sorry that I didn't have time to call you but our plans just got totally
>changed when I got word of the accident. So we packed up the truck and =

>early Sunday morning for Minnesota. FIL and I switched off driving the =

>and DH and his oldest brother, who flew down from MN, switched off =

>the truck. We got into his sister's house Monday night, unloaded the =

>Tuesday and rested a bit Wednesday. I did get to go to Hancock's in =

>on Wednesday and bought several yards of fabric.
>Then Wednesday night our friend from Council Bluffs drove up to pick us =

>since we were flying out of Omaha to come home. We left Thursday to go =

>CB. Friday she and I hit Hancock's there and I got a several more pieces=

>fabric. Then Saturday we went to the zoo for some fun that didn't =

>much thinking. We saw Deep Sea in 3D at the Imax. It was great. We flew =

>of Omaha yesterday at 3:00. At some point DH got a message from our =

>to call her at work so when we got to Chicago I called her to see what =

>up. Things have not been going well at all for her with her boyfriend =

>his mother. So we told her that if she ever needed to get out she could
>always come back home. So she called to say that she needed to take us =

>on our offer of a place to stay. So this morning DH went over and got =

>and the baby and they are now living with us again. I'm glad to have her=

>of that house and situation.
>Now comes the hard part though. It has been really difficult putting on =

>happy face the past week when all I really wanted to do was lay down and=

>until there were no more tears. It was so hard to see DH and his =

>together and be reminded that my brother is gone. Even though I have DH,=

>oldest son and daughter here, my family, as in parents, brother and =

>are all within an hour of each other. They have each other as a support
>system and I feel so totally left out and alone. How pathetic does that
>sound?!! But what sounds even more pathetic is the fact that I get so =

>sometimes that someone as good as my brother was taken so tragically and=

>young when evil people like my DH's ex and Candy's mother are left here =

>continue their reign of evilness. Where is the justice? Brother was a =

>and the sheer number of people who turned out for visitation and the
>funeral are a testament to his life and the people he touched. Yet DH's =

>is still walking the earth continuing to come between DH and his girls =

>Candy's mother is still here causing problems so that we don't get to =

>Logan as much as we should.
>Ok I've ranted enough. I do want to thank all of you for the hugs, =

>good thoughts and all the support you have sent my way. It really meant =

>lot to me and to just say thanks seems so inadequate but I do want to =

>you all from the bottom of my heart. I will continue to hold all that
>support in my heart in the dark days to come and I know there will be =

>days because the depression has already set in. I just have to deal with=

>now. Thanks for listening everyone and thanks for letting me get this =

>I'm off to take a nap while the babies are asleep. I'm exhausted.
>Hugs,
>Mika

> Well it has been an extremely hectic two weeks with lots of tears, stress
> and emotions that I cannot even begin to describe. We made it to Little Rock
> without a hitch. Our oldest son, our daughter and her baby flew down with us