Cindy Roof Wilkerson Fund Run of 2012 at Springdale Elementary

I have so much to share about all that has taken place this weekend.  We celebrated some Birthdays and we're all trying to be joyous and thankful for those around us.  Cindy's Fund Run was Friday, April 27th and what a celebration it was!  The precious children ran their little hearts out and were just adorable.  I walked into Yoder's class to get some extension cords to help set up when I heard the children say "Look, there's Mrs. Wilkerson" I know that is hard for them and I quickly explained that I was her sister.  The run was very well organized and everyone at Springdale Elementary did a jam up job pulling it off.  I know it is a great deal of work and our family thanks ALL involved from the bottom of our hearts.  It was a really good day for us.  We were in awe of how the kids were so into being healthy and making Mrs. Wilkerson proud by running so hard.

As they bust through the sign, they are ready to go and that determination doesn't stop even when they are tired..."can we run another lap" was said often when their 30 minutes were up!






The music was great, the atmosphere was so upbeat and the people that came out to support were awesome!  The town of Springdale, Lexington District 2 and Springdale Elementary should all be proud of what is happening in our schools.  Ultimate goal--healthy children that learn and grow to be healthy adults!

There were lots of feel good times during the day but my best story happened as I was walking through the halls to go check out the "cool party."  I heard a young voice behind me say, "Ma'am, excuse me-are you Mrs. Wilkerson's Mom?"  No, but I'm her sister-do you think we look alike? and he said "yes ma'am and I sure am going to miss her." I asked his name and it's Kyle, I told him that I miss her too and that I was proud of him running so hard earlier in the day for her.  He said he loved her and then put his arm around my waist and we walked arm in arm to the playground for the party.  Those are the cherished moments : )

Addie was a non-stop cheerleader and high-fived them all

Anna loved being around the kids and cheered them on

So proud of this school and community

To Cindy-from Ashley Ingram

My dear friend, what a week this has been—so many special occasions for which you have been missed so very deeply.  Aside from the regular hustle and bustle of every day life, and Anna being sick (which always worried you so for one of the girls to not be well), Addie had two proms this week, Friday was Jacob’s birthday, and today Emirie was baptized.  Anna is feeling much better and has done an absolutely incredible job of being “Anna”—a perfect balance of a big sister and mother figure.  She was sure to leave no detail undone—just as she always does—for Addie’s special days and Jacob’s as well.  As Karen has said before, and you and I spoke of as well, I know that I can talk to you anywhere, but I had to come by your grave just to tell you how incredibly amazing your two girls are.  They are truly beautiful both inside and out, and their wisdom, strength, and character continue to impress me even when I think they cannot impress me any further.  I hope that I can be even a fraction of the mother that you were.  Again, I come back to my selfishness, but we missed you so much this morning.  Emirie’s baptism is something that you and I talked about before she was even born, and I wish that you could have shared in it with us on earth.  The service this morning opened with us singing “Holy Ground”, and when we sang the verse “…and I know that there are angels all around…”, I really struggled to regain my composure.  I do, however, know that you were all around. 

Also this week, I attended my first “post-funeral” funeral.  It’s never “fun” to go to a funeral and never is it something that you look forward to with any sort of positive anticipation.  Funerals are, however, the opportunity to see an outpouring of love and support for someone gone from this earth, and are often a testament to who a person was during their earthly years.  My friend, yours was the most impressive display I have ever seen, which was truly fitting—a very appropriate response to the person that you were and the person that we all miss so deeply.  You know that I am generally not an outwardly emotional (or at least not outwardly tearful) person—although that has changed very drastically in these last few weeks.  Knowing that my mind would without question be flooded with memories of you and the day that we gathered to celebrate your life, my apprehension about attending this funeral was high because I did not want to be a blubbering mess in front of my coworkers.  Again, I was given the grace to keep it together, only shedding a couple of tears, for which I was very grateful.  As in so many experiences over the last few weeks, God has put me in the perfect place at the perfect time, and this funeral was yet another one of these instances.  The pastor that gave the message compared losing someone to leaving your firstborn baby with a babysitter for the first time—appropriate for me, right?  He said how you know that they are in safe hands, are happy to be where they are, and will be better for it.  He also said how despite knowing all these things, you want them with you and believe that no one can care for them the way that you can.  Again, drawing a metaphor to letting a loved one go.  Certainly, we know that you are in a much better place, and it is not for your betterment that we want you here with us, but ours.  That being said, this week especially, my friend, we want you here.  He concluded his message by saying to the family, “we have not come here to say ‘goodbye’, but rather have come here to say as we have some many times before ‘goodnight’—‘goodnight, rest well, and we will see you when the morning comes’”.  With a tear (or two, or ten) in my eyes, I knew that God had put me right where I needed to be, as He so faithfully does. 

With this week of so many joyous occasions, full of blessings that we know you are sharing in from Heaven behind us, we continue to miss you so deeply, but are so grateful that you brought us together, and that now as an angel you are “all around”.  The week ahead of us will also be so full of you with so many other wonderful things to come.  We are looking forward to it all.  In the meantime, my precious friend, I miss you so and have come here to say to you as I have so many times before, “goodnight, rest well, and I will see you when the morning comes.” 

Motivational Quote of the Day

Cindy loved quotes, she used them in her USC class all the time.  You could find them on her dresser, office walls at work, mirror...anywhere she might look.  So, I've added a daily quote link from values.com and if you haven't checked it out you should give it a look.  Sally and I found it one night watching college baseball and saw a commercial that touched us both.

It's a big week as we find our way.  Addie's senior prom is Saturday and I can't wait to post pictures.  I'm so proud of her and I know Cindy is too.  Addie has taught us so much in her 18 years, Cindy and I were always in awe of her peace, her belief in life, her strength, and her vision.  We talked of her girls often and she was always so proud of them both.  Love you Addie!  And Anna, you certainly rival your mom in being the BEST big sister ever :)

Post from Kim Dennis

This message is from Kim Dennis-she's married to Keith (my mom's nephew) so she's our cousin and so loved by us all.  I read her post on my porch this evening and couldn't wait to post it on the blog.  I know you'll all enjoy it, cherish your own memories from it and appreciate it!  Thanks Kim-looking ahead to wonderful memories to be made!
 
Keith and I are planning to take our vacation this year at the lake house…we love it there so much and have so many wonderful memories. One of the things I like the most about our trips to Lake Murray are the visits we get from family. I don’t think most people who live close to their extended family really appreciate the convenience of seeing your family whenever you want. We have Keith’s mom and sister, but visits from others are few and far between.
When we go to the lake, we don’t expect family to drop what they are doing, everyone has busy lives and we certainly get that. But we love a visit, even if it’s a short one. I can’t think of anyone as busy as the Wilkerson family, between their jobs, their church, the girls schedule, football season, etc….they go non-stop. I really have no memory of Keith and I going to the lake without a visit from Cindy. She understood the importance of family. She always made an effort to be there for us. We would sit on the porch and watch the sunset, she would stay for an hour or two and then get to her next appointment as she invariably had something to do. We talked a lot about family, she would always give us parenting advice , she and Jacob are our parent mentors…we’ve watched them and admired them for years. She said to make sure to spend time with your kids because it goes fast…. she made me feel like it is normal for my 3 ½ yr old to still have a passie (“I’ve never seen a child start Kindergarten with one. It’ll be fine".)) Cindy had the gift of making you feel important and listening to you. Not only did she visit us in her neck of the woods, but she made the effort to come to our important days as well. She attended both of my children’s baptisms in Savannah because it was an important milestone for our family. For Chelsea’s baptism she drove down Sunday morning because she had plans for Saturday evening, but she was there. Most recently, Cindy and Karen came for Keith’s 40th b-day party. I’m so glad I have that memory now.
Keith and I have both been blessed with a loving family. My side is a lot farther away, and I get homesick for them. But my Dennis/Wilkerson/Roof family has helped to ease that pain by loving me, making fun of me (the coconut pie story), being silly with me, being there for me not as if I was an addition to the family, but as if I have always been there. Just like Keith and Tiff. I am going to miss Cindy so much. She was such a big part of making me a Dennis. Somebody better come up and sit on the porch with us this year at the lakehouse! We can talk about family, share stories and drink a cold one.

I wanted to call you today to see how your Spring Break was going. I'm going to a musical in Charlotte tonight and I know how much you loved them.  It's going to be a fun one and I wanted to tell you about it.  Our Fun Run is coming up next Friday and I think of you so much during this time.  You had so much energy and passion for children's health and I love telling people about your impact on them.

My hope for this blog is for people to share their stories of Cindy so we can all get to know her in different ways.

My memory today is after I received National Board Certification in 2001, I went for a weekend at Edisto.  There was a Carolina cooler with my name embroidered on it full of beer, an Edisto T-shirt and a congratulations card from Cindy.  She was always so proud of her family and never hesitated showing us.  She loved fully!

I dreamed about Cindy last night, saw her clear as can be.  I almost NEVER remember my dreams and I'm frustrated that I don't remember any more than I do about this one.  That may be my only one or one of many to come, who knows.  But I'm grateful for the closeness of it.  Weekends are the hardest for me, I guess because to some extent life has to go on as planned during the week.  As caring and thoughtful that my 600 kids are at school they still need classes to go on as scheduled as well as all the other responsibilities of teaching.
So Friday comes along and life slows down...more time to think...and you're grateful for it but it's also tough.  I grilled out last night and spent time on the porch watching the sun blaze through the trees and birds happy as ever and it was a time that I would've normally called Cindy to see how her week was and to see what she was doing for the weekend.

Love ya and miss ya Sista!

I visited your grave yesterday on your Birthday for the first time.  I've never been one much to visit graves because I always feel like I can talk to those gone just anywhere I am.  You and I actually talked about that after Daddy died.  But I'll have to say that it was a wonderful moment (or moments, I made a couple of trips during the day).  It sits up on a hill and it was a beautiful spring day.  I took in all the sights and sounds of the morning and felt a little sense of peace.  There were some pretty flowers that different people put there for your birthday or just because they miss you. 

Today, I'm going back to work after spring break.  April is a full month and lots of great things will be happening and many of those because of you and who you were.  I'll be back to share soon-love ya Sista!

It's Saturday before Easter and Cindy's birthday.  Sometimes when I blog I talk directly to Cindy, sometimes to the readers and sometimes to myself.  Today is to myself...maybe a little pep talk per se.

I really do have a positive outlook on life and look for all the good that is taking place in this life knowing that what is to come is even better.  As so many people have told me over the past 6 weeks, I do cherish the memories I hold so dear.  I know that after finding out how large the tumor was and how detrimental it was going to be to her that it was a blessing that it took her life so quickly and with relatively little suffering.  I am thankful for my precious nieces and brother-in-law.  I'm grateful that there are venues for people to show their support.  But, that doesn't mean I miss her any less.

This is obviously the most difficult experience I've ever encountered and am thankful for the 3F's to get me through (Faith, Family, Friends)

However, I'm selfish...I want her here for Easter, for her Birthday, Jacob's birthday, Anna's birthday, to gather with friends and family, boat rides at the beach, sitting underneath at the beach, Addie's graduation, summer vacation, Carolina football, Christmas music in September :) and the list goes on and on and on.

But that isn't to be so for today I'm thankful that she loved so hard and we all knew where we stood with her, that she brought so many people together and will continue to do so for many, many years to come and that she knew how much I loved her too!

Happy Birthday Cindy and Happy Easter!

Love ya Sista ;)