I always thought my husband could fix anything. I mean he always had! If I was upset or angry, he just seem to talk me through it and I was Ok again.

Then mom died, and even Mark couldn't fix it.

I remember the night I got the phone call that mommy had passed away. My sister called and told me mom had passed away, (I have two sisters in Oregon, and two brothers in Utah) but it's like I wasn't really hearing it. I remember saying 'What' like three times, then just yelling. Later I thought how I had never heard that sound come out of me before. It was as if someone else had taken over my body.

Mark didn't try to hide his tears or hurt over mom's death. He and my mom were very close. As a matter of fact, mom and dad were livng with Mark and I up until a month before mom died. They had decided they wanted to be closer to us since we had been living all over the United States and the world due to Mark's Navy career. So when we bought this house here in Tennessee, Mark went back to Italy to finish his two months there before his Military retirement, and I stayed in Tennessee with the kids. Mom and dad moved out here in October of 2007, Mark came home for good in December in 2007.

Mom had been on the State medical program while living in Oregon. Oregon actually has one of the best in the United States, so we were really happy with her health care. And to be honest, we thought we would have no problem getting her on State medical here, but we found that to be so untrue! There was a huge waiting list and so we were paying out of pocket for her medication and medical. We did try to get her medical through a private comapany, but the cost was so high and none of us could afford it. When she went into the hospital in January, the bills were over 25,000 dollars and that's when mom and dad decided they should probably go back to Oregon because at least mom would be on the State medical there. So mom left on March 5Th, my daughter Isabell's fourth birthday. We found a plane ticket out of Nashville for less then two hundred dollars, much cheaper then flying out of Knoxville, so she, myself and Isabella drove the three hours to Nashville. We stopped over at my in-law's so mom could see them because she hadn't had the chance to visit with them in a while. She also wanted to see the house where Mark grew up. It was a nice visit. My father-in-law and I took mom to the airport, the last place I ever saw her.

Mom moved in with my sister Lorrie. The plan was mom and dad would get their own place once daddy got back to Oregon. Dad would drive back to Oregon. He was going to leave in May, but he decided out of the blue he was going to leave in April instead. I believe now it was nothing short of God telling him he needed to get home with mommy. Dad got back to Oregon and the next week mom died. You know, God was involved more then I realized at the time. Mark wasn't due to retire from the Navy until June of 2008, but he decided not to extend and just go ahead and get out. We bought the house and the kids and I moved back from Italy in August of 2007. Had that not happened, mom would have died while we were still living in Italy and I never would have had those last five months with her living here with us.

Anyway, about my husband...... Not many son-in-law's would be so OK with the in-laws moving in, but Mark welcomed the idea. My mom and dad had always had some money problems, and I can't count the times Mark made sure they had groceries in the house, bills paid, just making sure they were alright. Dad's old car died and it was Mark who happily suggested we send them money for another car. He felt we were doing very well and making extra money in Italy, so there was no reason why we couldn't help. Mom and dad were so thankful! It was worth it just seeing how excited they were.

My biggest worry after mom died was how daddy was going to be. He and I talked on the phone the day after she died and he said "All I have now is Maggie." He was referring to his beloved dog that he and mom picked out together five years before. I explained to daddy that he had us, he had the other kids and many friends. I told him to think about coming back to Tennessee, but honestly, I didn't think he would.... Then I got a nice surprise phone call in May and it was dad asking if the offer for him to come back to Tennessee was still open......UMMMMM, YES!!!! Mark assured him we wanted him here and had plenty of room. (Dad's medical wasn't an issue because he has Medicare. Mom was too young to receive Medicare yet) I threw my arms around Mark's neck after we hung up from dad and thanked him. He smiled that smile that has mealt my heart from the moment we met and just said "Thanks for what? For loving your dad and thinking of him as my own dad? I know you would do it for me. Look at what you have already done for me. Given me four beautiful kids, three beautiful step-kids, followed me all over the world and moved every three years for my Navy career, then settled in a strange town just so I could go to the law school I wanted to." I have never forgot that he said that to me. I knew he was thankful that I was always there for him, but at that moment I knew he and I were in everything together no matter how big or small.

Life is better these days. I still miss mom every moment, every day. Mark couldn't fix what happened to her, but he has been there to help heal my broken heart. He let's me cry when I need to, laugh when I need to, and sometimes even knows when to just let me be alone.

Daddy and Maggie dog moved here in July and it's been wonderful! Mom's birthday has come and gone since he moved here, so Mark took him fishing on that day. Their 49Th wedding anniversary came along in December, so we took him out for Red Lobster, his and mom's favorite place to eat. Dad is planning to start a garden out-back starting in the Spring, and he and Mark love watching football together! They were down in the family-roon watching the Super Bowl last weekend and I could hear them all the way up here! It was funny!

I believe my dad is where he want's to be, but I also believe he's where mom would want him. I'm the youngest of five kids and even though I'm in my 30's, mom still looked at me as her baby. She wanted to be here with us and she got to be for a while, but I think she would be very pleased to know daddy is back with us, with me, their baby.