Thursday, September 11, 2008

A story and an article

Thank you so much to all of you who have sent me funny and sweet memories of Joseph. The following is a story my friend Christy wrote down that I just thought was so hilarious.

Christy’s Soda

Joseph was probably around 17 months old and we decided to take a trip to Target so that his mommy could sit down for 2 seconds together (she was about 8 1/2 months pregnant with Holly). Anywhere else and Joseph would be running at approximately 62 mph, but place him in a Target shopping cart and he'd sit there wide-eyed as long as you'd stroll him around. It was magical. So here we are, taking in the Home Improvement section, and he asks me for a sip of my Dr. Pepper. (Enter my savvy.) I say, "Sure, here you go!" (Reminder: I had not had children of my own.) Joseph takes a nice big gulp, then gives me a look of confusion and horror and delight. Priceless expression that surprised me and made me giggle. I thought he'd love it, and it hadn't occurred to me that perhaps Allen and Gillian didn't give their one-year-old carbonated caffeinated beverages on a regular basis. Joseph ponders this experience for a moment, then asks for another sip. As I offer my straw, he leans in tentatively, then jerks back with a huge grin, shaking his head emphatically. Total fake out! Fantastic! I adore a kid with a sense of humor. We played this game for another 5 minutes or so, then eventually we headed back to mommy. As I was relaying all this to Gillian later, she just laughed and said, "Yeah, he's never had soda before!" Oh.

And now for something more serious...

Anissa's article

I read an online article recently by a lady named Anissa. Her daughter has leukemia and she wrote about what she has been through. At the end of her article she wrote some tips about how to help those who are dealing with serious illness. Some of the things I never would have thought of--like that someone might feel guilty that it wasn't them.
We have been so completely blessed and do not need a thing. We have meals coming for a long time, plenty of help, love, etc. We feel very blessed that we feel like everyone has anticipated what we need and done more than we could ever imagine. Thank you!!

Here is a link to her article: (It's the second post down)
http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

8 comments:

Jennifer said...

I'm glad to read what Anissa wrote. Very helpful indeed. Will send you some Joe P stories soon...

Anonymous said...

As I have admitted....I am addicted to this blog. I just miss you all that seeing your writings makes me feel closer to you all.

Thanks for sharing what Anissa wrote. What insight and very helpful advice. I love the soda story also....the fake out is totally Joseph!!!

Love you all. Jody

Ali Tanner said...

this is a wonderful post. what a wonderfully fun story about him! i had another dream last night...one in which your whole family was in. its weird- i feel like the Lord is continuing to call me to pray and love you all...continuously even while sleeping.

much love and prayers still

Lynn T said...

Allen, Gill and Holly,
Such a great Joe P story. I can just picture him doing that so well. Goodnight. Love you all, Lynn

Anonymous said...

I can just see Joseph leaning in for that sip...and smiling...he was such a teaser and he loved teasing us and seeing our response. Christy, I bet you have a lot of stories about Joe P, thanks for sharing this one.
God says in Jeremiah 31:25; I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
This is what I am praying for you tonight.
Love, Mimi

Christy said...

In all truth, my very favorite memory of Joseph (and the soda one is hard to beat), was right before you moved when he came to hug me before nap time. I hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time with him recently, so I wasn't expecting a hug. Thus, I stood there like an ape while he waited shyly at my side. Then you filled me in, and I got the best hug and kiss in the world. Made me feel like a million dollars.

I didn't want to read the other article because I didn't want to cry, but I did and I did and it was good. The thing about the guilt is true. I don't know how many times I've thought "Why should I get to have my son when they don't have theirs?" I know there's no reason - nothing that would makes sense to us on this side, anyway. It's not fair, and that's that. But thank you so much for being the kind of friends who, despite your own suffering, delight so much in other people's joy. You also continue to embrace the joys God has brought into your own lives. These qualities are not of this world.

Randi said...

I enjoy reading the Joseph stories as I had never had the honor of meeting this lovely boy, but I can tell you my favorite video story I have seen.
I have two hearing losses, one in each ear and wasn't able to really hear the video when you all went to the zoo (?) and went for that car ride in the safari.
After Joseph passed away, I went back to the video and could not stop smiling. I laughed out loud when that ostrich poked his head nearly through the window and I heard Joseph say "Oh man!" and whip some food at the animal. It just sort of reminded me of that Napoleon Dynamite film where Napoleon is talking to their pet llama, telling her, "Come and eat your food Tina!"
Despite Joseph's surprise (and slight fear?) at this weird and large animal that was so close by, he still wanted it to eat. That video warmed my sad heart.
Randi

Anonymous said...

Hi Gillian,
Thanks for continuing to reach out to others in your grief. I really wanted to share another article (actually, a series of articles) with everyone who loves you, but I didn't know how to, so I'll just post them here. John Piper's daughter in law and son had a stillborn baby last year, and this is a post on her blog that gives links to an amazing series on grief and how to help a grieving friend. Some of them I hadn't thought of, and they all seemed so fresh from a grieving mother's heart--I thought they might help.

http://thepipers.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/how-to-help-your-grieving-friend/

Praying for you all daily,
Alison Fontenot