Life Support May 2014

It has been months since I last wrote. I am currently back in Texas, having come here to attend my youngest niece's wedding and stayed over a few extra days to care my folks so my sister Pat and husband Bill could take a break from caring for them. This blog is to tell you about my amazing sister, Pat and her husband, Bill. I have other relatives; each one precious to me in their own ways, but Pat & Bill are special to so many people that I want to pay a tribute to them in my blog.
     Pat was 'going on 10' when I was born, and from the beginning she has mothered me like her own. After my youngest brother Michael died when I was 3, Pat became a surrogate mom to me, of sorts, as our mom struggled with her grief and began a 35 year battle with alcohol, which she finally won after having a stroke on my 38th birthday. During those 35 years, and all the years since, I have always had someone I could turn to for comfort, advice or a place to lay my head. She has never failed me. But one can't praise Pat without equally praising her husband, Bill. Without his love and support she could never have been for others what she has been all these years. Bill entered our world when I was a mere 8 years old. I loved him immediately because of how much I could see he loved my sister. He treated me like a little sister and always has been there for me. Of all my childhood things, the only thing I have left is the stuffed dog he gave me at Christmas when I was 8. In all the years since and the many moves I've made, I have gotten rid of a lot--but I would never part with that silly dog, as it meant so much to me as a little girl that this kind older man loved me enough to spend his own money on me, and not just my sister...and thus it has always been. Bill didn't just take of Pat, but in marrying the oldest sister, he took us all under his wing as well. And we are all immensely grateful. His coming to us helped to stabilize what had become a very rocky boat during my mom's worst years. He gave Pat the added strength she needed to help to keep our world stable until the rest of us kids came of age and went out on our own. However, for me, there were added blessings. As the one in the family who has never married, I left home to live with them, as I could not afford a place of my own at such a young age. I had become a Christian at 18 as a result of their love and example and sharing of the gospel with me, and I am ETERNALLY grateful.