Life As I Know It: August 17, 1951

This past weekend was an amazing yet somber weekend. This is how it started.

A l'il background.

My dad, Rick, Kenny, Thom, and Chris

This is my dad and his "Fab 5". Friends since high school and closer than any relationships I've ever seen. Especially for guys :) They do everything together and some of them I'm closer to than family members. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to call them my Uncles.

This past March, the one second from the left, Rick Smith, was diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer; incurable and unoperable. This sad news pierced our hearts harder than anything. All my life we have spent practically every single summer on the houseboat with Rick and his family. I have so many memories of Rick teaching someone on his boat how to wakeboard or ski or, in my case, knee board.

However, none of those compare to the special bond he and I shared for most of my life. The whole time I knew Rick, I hardly ever called him that. To me, he was, and always will be, my Miss Piggie.

Weird, I know but it stems from back when I was like 5 and I was this skinny little gangly thing with these tiny little legs and arms. I was standing on the houseboat and happened to be wearing a lime green life jacket that made my torso look sorta like this:

Rick took one look at me and said, "Look at that. Doesn't she look like Kermit the Frog?". From that point on, I was lovingly referred to as 'Kermie'. I called him 'Miss Piggie' and the rest is history..

Well, early morning on September 16th, I had gone to bed at like 3 in the morning. But, that didn't stop my body from randomly waking up at 7 am and not being able to go back to sleep. So, I just happened to decide to check Facebook when I got the unfortunate, and somewhat unbelievable, news.

Rick had passed.

At first I didn't know what to think. I was in shock and some sort of denial. It didn't seem real. Then I sent a text to Caleb just to let him know (thinking he would see it when he woke up). Instead, he woke up and instantly called me. In that minute between the sent text and received phone call, it hit me. It became real and all I could do was cry. It hurt so bad and all I felt like doing was crawling back in my bed and falling asleep.

All my memories of him came flooding back. Two days before, his daughter had just written on my wall for my birthday and, of course, called me Kermie. However, I had to press on with my day.

A week later, on September 23, I flew to California for his funeral. My sister flew down too and we had a lovely weekend with our family.

It was a wonderful service, with the rest of the Fab 5 there and all his family. My dad gave a wonderful eulogy with only a few tears. His children had only the sweetest words to say, along with everyone else. Because, truth is, that's just what Rick deserves. He was an amazing guy who would always go the extra mile for others. I know just how much he's touched my life and our family's lives, and the full congregation was extra proof of that.

Thom, Kenny, Rosie, Dad, and Chris

The day ended with a luncheon and then the interment. We then stopped by [Rick and] Rosie's house and spent a little bit there, saying our goodbyes. Then headed home.

We got to spend our Sunday with everyone there; Mom, Dad, Chelsea, Cameron, Me and Caleb. We all went to church together but since we couldn't keep quiet we just decided to leave early and spend the time visiting :) Nate, Holly, and Paul were greatly missed and luckily we got to Skype with Chelsea and Paul that night once she got home.

I love my family and I love that we have all been sealed together in the temple. I'm so grateful for my parents' decisions to get baptized those many years ago (side note: my dad and Rick were baptized at the same time). And I'm so thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the clearly active role it plays in our lives. As sad as Rick's passing was, I also had so much relief blended in because I knew he was so much happier and done with the pain and struggle that he was going through. It's a great feeling knowing we'll be able to see him again someday.