I miss him so much, especially around this time of year. Not only would it have been his 71st birthday this upcoming 28th, but he truly loved Christmas time. I remember when my mom, Michael, the girls, and I all went to cut down our own Christmas tree (but it was more like he cut it down) it was my first ever real tree I'm pretty sure it was his idea too and when we put it on top of the car it was almost falling off we were so scared it would but it didn't. I remember watching miracle on 34th street with Michael, still my favorite Christmas movie.
Some more memories that are close to my heart:
As my grandmother is having a harder and harder time remembering things, and I'm seeing some people lose patience with her, l remember how kind Michael was to my grandparents, answering all the most obscure medical questions with a genuine heart. And a whole lotta patience. He was kind to everyone. And loved learning about other cultures. He had already been to the balkans before meeting my family. He was so selfless.
I once had a random sort of asthma attack it was rare for me to get those at all, but he took it very seriously and even pushed me to use Haley's nebulizer which I wasn't keen on but it actually helped tremendously. Similarly, I once had a migraine, it got to the point where I lost parts of my vision, and he was very adamant about getting me an MRI to make sure it wasn't anything serious, he truly cared for people in this way.
My favorite memory was when Michael and I were walking near a rose bush in the summer time, and he stopped and started picking at the rose hips, I was so confused why he was doing that but he explained you can make tea with them! I was skeptical at first, but that rose hip tea was the best, most comforting tea l've ever had.
He made breakfast on an iron skillet...in a condo! And it was amazing.
He roasted pumpkin seeds after we all carved pumpkins for Halloween, again something l'd never done but now I love pumpkin seeds.
When we were all in Idaho around the fire, we were all sharing spooky stories. Michael had told one with such a serious tone we all believed it to be true as kids or at least I did, as it was based on his rafting days, but when somebody asked him outright, is that true? He laughed and said no as if it was supposed to be obvious.
He had such a great impact on my life. He brought me closer to my mom. I am forever grateful for him. Michael did not deserve what was tormenting him. I miss him dearly.
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