Bart Simpson in Mansfield, Ohio, is more than glad to hear from his friend in Tennessee.
Tuesday, February 7, 2006, 6:50 a.m. (*YAWN*)~
Dear Louisiana in Tennessee~
You don't know HOW happy I was to have heard from you! It's been a very long time since you have last written! I was thinking about you and your beautiful family, and I was wondering if I woudl ever hear from you again!
I have been okay, but the anniversary of Annie's passing from flesh-eating disease is quickly coming, and once again, my heart is filled with a painful grief that can not be ignored. I look at my boys, and I get a lump in my thorat and tears in my eyes because I wish Annie could have lived to see them grow up, and she would have been such a wonderful mother to them. I wish my Annie hadn't gottne sick; who KNEW that one little cut could result in her getting deserately sick, then dying in writing pain and agony? It still hurts me whenever I think of my beloved suffering so much, and as I write these words, teaers are threatening to spill, and I must not cry, for fear I will wake up the boys. I am still working, trying to keep my mind (and hands) busy and occupied, and it is when I am up all by myself that is the worst time for me.
I am glad that you are well; it sounds like your family is really coming along! FIFTY-THREE children! WOW!! That is absolutely AMAZING! Your children are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Yes, I DID get your Christmas card, and I was happy to see that you remembered enough to care for me and the boys. Christmas was rough: it was my first Christmas without Annie, and the boys have been asking about their mama, which only causes me to cry. They don't understand that their mama is never coming back, that illness took her to Glory, and they still ask when she is coming back. It is enough to rip the heart straight out of my chest!
Excuse me while I wipe my eyes; I am crying again---
It is cold here; we have at least five inches still on the ground. We got dumped on last week; there was a total of 5.2 inches of snow from the last storm that came through here. The boys have been having a ball frollicking in the snow, and their happy shrieks make me smile. How is the weather there? Have YOU had any snow this winter? Or has it been unseasonably warm there, like most of the country? I hope the weather is snowy or at least pleasant enough not to cause you problems.
So you are going on a CRUISE. How positively NEAT! I hope you have a MARVELOUS time with your family! That is wonderful! Your bosses must think you do a super job to reward you with something like a FREE two-week cruise! My, my, my, my, my!! I hope you know that you have made me jealous! LOL
I do hope that your baby is okay. Is he home, or is he in the hospital? I certainly pray it isn't anything serious! Let me know what is going on with your little boy; I will most certainly pray for him and his recovery!
Well, I am going to try to get some shuteye before the boys rouse me up; I haven't slept good the last several nights, and I am bone-tired! Working two jobs only makes the exhaustion worse. I am so tired it isn't a wonder I haven't fallen over by now!
God bless you, dear friend, and thank you ever so much for taking the time to email me! I willl be waiting for your next letter; hopefully, i't'll be MUCH sooner the next time you respond! LOL
~Your friend in Ohio, Bart.
P.S.: I put storm clouds on this letter because this is how my heart and emotions have been lately. I have a storm, a storm of depression, inside my body, and there is no hope of the sun ever peeking through. Please keep me in your prayers!
Poignant; bittersweet; it must be so hard to raise three boys all alone. You convey such believability in your words, you make the reader feel sad for Bart. Very well done.
This exceptional book, Celebrating the Gift of Being Alive, has the perfect thoughts and words for birthdays, graduations, engagements, marriages, and any life celebration or family tradition.
