Little Boy's Fondest Memory, Young Widow's Treasured Story.

                                                             I guess it was the summer before my husband's death in December 2006 when he bought an used Chevrolet pickup.  It was red , regular cab and regular bed on it.
                                                             My late husband Jeff, had bought it to use as a work truck so I could have the little Ford Escort Wagon for the kids in case I needed to go somewhere.  It of course was soon traded off for a Ford Windstar Van that my husband barely even got to drive.
                                                              It wasn't unusual that Jeff and I took turns dropping off and picking up the children from Elementary School.
                                                             Any more my memory fails me once in a while and I guess I choose to forget some of the sad memories of losing Jeff.  I was riding with my son,a few days back, who is 16 now and driving himself .  I am pretty sure his dad would have been proud how well he is doing.  Anyway I started a conversation with my son, even though I don't remember what it was I told him but it was a memory of his late father I shared with him.  I asked him if he remembered that old Red Chevy Truck his dad had and he said yes he did and shared this story with me.
                                                            Jeff had gone to pick up our son from Central Elementary in Willard, Ohio .  Our son enjoyed riding in the truck and the school was just about three blocks from our house on Clark Street.   On nice days I would walk the kids to school in the mornings and pick up my daughter at noon, then later on , my daughter and I would walk down to get her brother so it really wasn't far at all.  That day I stayed home with our daughter while Jeff went to get our son.   My son remembered coming out and missing his dad in the truck parked along the street, so playfully Jeff honked the horn at my son ,walking down the sidewalk,just as he passed the Chevy,enough to see the front of the truck.  
                                                           My son said "Mom, I can still see him smiling and laughing at me" he chuckled "I really thought that was funny."   
                                                           I remember Jeff loving to pull little pranks like that and it was so nice to have my son remember his dad like that.  I will treasure that story for my lifetime .   The kids and I still miss him.  Its through memories like that for a brief moment brings him back to spend a little more time with us here on earth, if only in our thoughts.
                                                          I hope this brings some encouragement to all of you who may be missing your loved one today!  Just think of a happy memory!!