It seems like I've lived a week in the last 43 hours. I'm still in shock, obviously, but feeling some peace and comfort, too. There's nothing I could say about Chad that those who knew him didn't already know. Our love was one of a kind. I've never had anyone love me the way he did. I didn't know that I was gorgeous, cute, funny, wonderful, spiritual, or anyone to take notice of, until I met Chad. He saw who I really was and who I was trying to be. He helped me let that out for others to see too. Although I feel like we have been married for a long time (13 years), it seems like now, it was only a short time. Chad and I were like "peas and carrots" (Forrest Gump). I am grateful for an eternal perspective at a time like this. We had a lot of difficult conversations over the last three years regarding the possible outcome that has now become reality. We reminded eachother that forever was a lot longer than the 50 or so years we had hoped to have. I remember when we were first married, we were excited that we had a shot at making our 50 year anniversary because we got married so young!
I hope to see many friends at his services Wednesday and Thursday. His obituary is available for viewing online at www.deseretnews.com.
I don't have many digital pictures of Chad and I before we had the kid, but these two that I've used seem appropriate. The one above is from a trip to Vegas that we took about 1 week before he got sick in March of 2006. The one below is from a trip we took to Colorado over Memorial Day this year. The location is at Flagstaff in Boulder, Colorado. It's where we went on our second date.
