Today is Thursday, July 28th, 2005; Karen's Korner #599

Six years ago today our son-in-law Ed called to tell us the life altering news, "Merry was killed in an auto accident late this afternoon." That was all the message we needed to begin our trip to their hometown of Amana.
 
Sometimes at an anniversary like today or other times of the year, I like to share some thoughts about Merry, things she did or shared, or what I have learned as her mom through Karen's Korner.
 
One person responded awhile ago, "I can tell that you are still grieving Merry's death."
 
Maybe I am. I know that it is important that I remember and not forget.
 
Two of the gifts which we received in the days following Merry's death:  a few friends gave us a framed plaque with the words, "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure"; another group of friends gave us a blank, hard-bound book, telling us, "Have people write down their memories of Merry in it." The pages filled up quickly in the few days, weeks, and months following her funeral. Now, an entry is only occasional. This morning I counted the number of blank pages: only 19 left. Eventually, we will have it filled.
 
One thought I had this morning about Merry which isn't in the "Merry Memories" book, I'll write in the near future (people are allowed more than one entry; moms can write a lot of them!): 
 
Along with teaching middle school music students for the Clear Creek-Amana School District, Merry also taught piano lessons in their home. About this time of year, Merry called one day to tell about her piano teaching experiences. One mother had contacted Merry to tell her that her son and daughter wouldn't be taking lessons that year. The gal worked with Merry at school, but was going through a divorce. There wouldn't be enough extra dollars for the lessons. Merry told 'mom', "Kids shouldn't have to suffer because of a divorce and changes in their family situation. I will teach them for free."  For the next year, Merry taught the two older elementary students without pay!
 
That was Merry - big heart, always caring about others, enjoying life to the fullest, always with a smile, a joke, a story.
 
 
It was about two months before Merry died that she and Ed set us up on email. Merry was the email "queen". If she was feeling good, we would receive lots of messages from "pass around" emails. If she wasn't, a few days would go by without any new ones. I received enough of them, that at times I would delete many to most of them.
 
I have nine of them left. If I would have known these would have been the last ones we would ever receive, I would have kept more (maybe all!) of them. Many of them were  thoughtful, heartful ones. Now and then some of them were marked, "Dad would enjoy this one!" Or as my mom would have called it, "salty humor".
 
This is one of the nine: 
 
 
German Baby

A doctor was having an affair with his nurse.  Shortly after
this started, she told him she was pregnant. Not wanting his wife
to know, he gave the nurse a large sum of money and asked her to go to
Germany and have the baby there. "But how will I let you know the baby is
born?"she asked. He replied " Just send me a postcard and write
"sauerkraut" on the back"
 
Not knowing what else to do, the nurse took the  money and
flew to Germany. Six months went by and then one day the doctor's wife
called him at the office and explained "Dear, you received a very strange
post card in the mail today and I don't understand what it 
means."
 
The doctor  said "Just wait until I get home and read it and I
will explain it to  you".
Later that evening the doctor came home, read the  postcard,
fell to the floor with a heart attack-and died . So the wife picked  up the
card and read "Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut. Sauerkraut 
- Two with wieners, two without".

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