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You know how someone can be so incredibly special to you,
Last year, I had Valley Fever and was very ill.
I have so many priceless memories of our times together.
We had several special "Mom & Miss" TV shows that we watched together
Melissa was incredibly gifted and became bored rather easily.
Lissa absolutely loved books. In fact, I'm fairly certain that
Another case in point, Melissa has always loved jig-saw puzzles.
Like her mother and grandmother before her, Melissa was bitten by
Like her grandfather, Melissa snapped up the shutterbug gene.
Music was another one of Melissa?\'s great loves. I marveled at the diverse
Keeping with the musical theme, Melissa had the voice of an angel and
Music, you must understand, was critical. It was more important than food,
But creativity did not stop with music. Melissa also had a flare for drama.
Professionally, Melissa was brilliant and determined. She fell in love
Melissa had one very cute idiosyncracy that I loved to tease her about.
Before Melissa turned 18, she informed me that she was going to do a
Melissa was the most intuitive person that I had ever met.
Melissa was a true over comer. Daily, she was challenged with JRA, fibromyalgia,
Melissa?s love was so unconditional and encompassing that it filled every breath
In every situation, Lissa knew and understood my every thought and
In fact, Melissa loved everyone. She knew no strangers.
I was given the gift of spending 18 years with the most precious and loving soul
I know now that she is a beautiful angel, dancing painlessly in Heaven with God's
Eighteen years ago, God placed a precious angel in my arms, to hold if but for
Today, I place that precious angel back into God?s warm embrace, where he will
? Sondra "Sammie Sue" Andersen
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that their love completely fills your heart? ..
Even in those out of the way nooks and crannies.
Just being in their presence can fill your heart with such
joy you feel that it might burst from the intense happiness.
Melissa was that person for me.
Her love was so pure, sweet, unconditional, complete.
Her smile could immediately light me up inside, no matter
how gloomy I was feeling.
Melissa would gently climb into
bed with me, snuggle up very close, rub my back, and
watch movies with me until I was able to fall asleep.
The "little nurturing mommy" in her was always on alert
to make sure I took my medication, slept enough, ate right, and felt loved.
We loved to play cards, especially Nertz.
Out of the millions of games we played, I think she
might have let me win once or twice. And it wasn?t like
she had to concentrate really hard to beat me either.
You must understand, Melissa was the epitome of "multi-tasking"
and simply could not do one thing at a time. So our card marathons
usually coincided with a movie or maybe several other simultaneous events.
every week. Charmed, Everwood, Friends, and Gilmore Girls were the main
attractions. If for some reason, one of us was otherwise engaged,
we would tape the shows to watch together later.
Gilmore Girls was our absolute favorite. Many a friend
told us that we were the true "Rory and Loralie."
I?ll never forget how she questioned her kindergarten teacher daily
about just "WHEN" they were going to learn to read.
After a few days, and much frustration on the part of both
student and teacher, she simply taught herself.
I still don?t know "how," but she did.
she was born with a book in her hand, as she was in high school
before we could convince her that you didn?t have to take a book into
the restaurant with you.
But in recent years, she felt that they lacked an adequate level of
challenge, so she began to do them upside down .. you know no picture
showing, just the shape to guide you!
the "dance bug." When she was 3, she would get up early on Saturday
morning, put on an oversized cowboy hat and her patent leather tap shoes,
and clog around the kitchen. As she grew older, she performed in various
church and school events, eventually even becoming involved in choreography.
Now you must understand, for a child with arthritis, dancing hurt her joints
and created a great amount of fatigue.
But dancing was in her heart and soul .. so she danced.
I remember one night, she turned her room into a photo studio
(you know black sheet on the wall for background, etc...), and spent
the entire night taking photos of a carefully selected vase of flowers.
After developing
and printing the film herself, she colorized some of her
creations, while leaving
the remainder black and white.
For mother?s day this year, she gave me two
of her beautiful creations ..
I will cherish them always.
taste that ranged from Rap to Country to Hip Hop, and Classical.
More on the applied side, Melissa began playing the violin at age 7.
She soon added the viola and the french horn to her repratore.
Recently, she was learning to play the guitar.
participated in numerous musical endeavors. My favorite memory of course
was the solo she sang to me at church on Mother?s Day.
water, and air. We couldn?t go anywhere without a stack of special CD?s.
The last week of her life, she made a "Mom and Me - Girls" CD.
We sang at the top of our lungs from Kansas to Texas.
"Cowboy Take Me Away" from the Dixie Chicks was our
favorite duet.
Anyone surprised? She liked to act, but also got immersed in set design,
lighting and sound. She did several professional "gigs" as the sound and
lighting specialist. And this summer, she directed her first play.
with court-room drama after taking several applied case-law courses.
Her goal was to become a prosecutor. I have to admit that she was very
good at arguing and could be quite persuasive. Right Stevie?
She rarely wore matching socks. It all began in 5th grade when they
had a spirit day. She wore one blue sock and one red sock - KU colors.
But ever since that day, her socks haven?t matched. Of course, I did wonder
if her "teenage style" of laundry piling had any play in the situation.
So for Christmas last year, I bought her 20 pairs of carefully picked out
unique designer socks. I was so proud of myself to be solving the "sock dilemma."
Melissa humored me for about a week, then went back to
wearing mismatched socks.
"wild rebellious act" for her 18th birthday. Turned out, the act was getting
her belly button pierced and even then she did it while I was out of town.
I remember the picture she sent me via email of her new creation.
She always knew when, how, why, and where someone was hurting.
And by the same token, she could usually relieve their pain.
migraines, asthma, and allergies. She never complained, she never gave up, she
always kept faith and hope. After over 8 years of daily pain and suffering,
Melissa obtained a full remission. In victoriously overcoming her many
challenges, she grew confident, resilient, and passionate about her future.
I took. Her sweet smile was a bright as sunshine, and always filled my heart
with joy. She took care of me when I was sick, set me straight when I was wrong,
and made everything better with her heart-warming hugs.
Melissa?\'s hugs could heal any wound ..
They were like hot cocoa on a snowy day or a comforting teddy bear and your
snuggliest blanket. She truly blanketed me with her love.
feeling .. often before I had a chance to understand them myself.
Our souls were fused together
by the strongest bonds of love.
A stranger was simply a person that she had yet to come across in life?s path.
Her kind heart and gentle spirit drew many people to her.
It was especially beautiful to watch her interact with small children
and the elderly. She touched their hearts, participated in what was important
to them, and gave of herself completely. Daily, she would do things
to brighten someone?s day or let them know that they were special to her.
that God ever created. In the words of a Mandy Moore Song ..
"It lasted forever, but was over too soon."
You always think that you have tomorrow with your children.
I can no longer hold Lissa in my arms, help her fix her hair for that special
dance, go shopping for the perfect outfit, play a game of cards
(which I would inevitably loose), go to a "chick flick", or share our favorite music.
I know deep in my heart, that we are forever connected.
I will forever cherish the precious gifts of love that she bestowed on me every day.
The little notes of encouragement, the phone calls to say she loved me, the way she
snuggled with me when she came home and told me about her day. She was always
joyful, unconditionally loving, forgiving, and looked for the best in everyone.
We breathed in unison, loved each other completely, and finished each other?s thoughts
without saying a word. She was my baby, my best friend, my soul mate. In short,
she was my heart. She was every breath I took.
love surrounding her. But I long to hold her in my arms once again.
a short time, but to love forever.
love and protect her, until we can be together again in Heaven.
"MOME" to Lissabee
by
Deb
© 1998 - 2007
by Dynamic Drive