Kerry's One Year Anniversary of Meeting Crystal

September 17, 2009

I first met Crystal on September 17, 2008. I felt bad for her being so young and in a nursing home. I also knew she had to be very sick to be there. We talked and got to know each other. She said she would take care of my mother, since they were now roommates. I've never forgotten that, and tried to help her whenever I could, whether it was getting her a drink (usually Starbucks or Cherry Cokes), food to eat (she always refused the nursing home food plates), or going out someplace just to get away from the nursing home. For about 3 months before her last stroke, I pushed her out to Target almost every day. She just wanted to get away and have a break.

On this day thunderstorms were in the forecast. A friend from work did the driving that day. We stopped at Tom Thumb and picked up some flowers, then headed to Ola. While in Dallas it started to pour, and I wasn't sure we were going to make it. The closer we got to Ola, the rain slowed until it stopped. It was as if Crystal was holding back the rain so I could have a nice visit. I noticed the grave gained a couple of night lights at the head of it since I last visited on July 6, 2009 (her 31st birthday). The cutting board that someone burned a message into was still there, but the weather and time had split it into 3 pieces. I'm glad there are pictures of it from a previous visit so we can always read what it said. I think I spent about 20 minutes there, then headed back to Dallas. Maybe 5 minutes after we left, the rain started to pour again. Crystal must have let go of the rain. When we got to Dallas we headed to Plano, then stopped at a place to eat. It was my thank you to my friend for driving me out to the grave. When we got to the restaurant, the rain stopped again. I think Crystal didn't want us to get wet getting out the car and walking to the restaurant.

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