2020 -

***I know it is February 25th of 2023 but when I went to start a new blog today I saw that this was never published...so I'll leave you with this post for now and publish 2023 soon!

2020 - Can you believe it?!?!

I truly can't believe it has been so long since I've blogged.  I've thought about it periodically but I usually just talk to you in my head.  However, there are just times that it needs to go down in print of some sort.  So, Just One More for Cindy, seems quite appropriate!  We spent last week at Edisto and visited "The Briny Swine" formally know to us as "The Thirsty Fish"
To say the flood of memories came rushing back is an understatement.  It is a place that will forever feel like you!  Vibrant, warm, fun, etc...

There really are no words to describe just how much you are missed on this earth but you are remembered!  That is so evident in more ways than I can possibly mention here...but Anna and Addie are perfect examples!  They are so you in their own ways and demonstrate just how powerful your memory is to so many of us.  Mannerisms, phrases, looks, characteristics, joy, and yet...Finn and Flora are now in the picture.  Oh MY are my best words for them.  You would be so over the moon soaking them in if you were here with us.  Finn will be 6 this year, which is kinda hard to imagine...she was just born wasn't she...then again it's been 8 years since you fought your heroic fight. It all seems like yesterday doesn't it?  Finn has your heart, always looking for the good in people and just can't seem to understand when someone doesn't treat others right.  I would say "She is going to make a difference in this world...but she already has!" Then, there is Flora...I don't think I've even introduced this little love on this blog.  Can you believe we have a blond curls, blue eyed angel among us?  Her smile melts you to the core, her dimples are beyond description and when she hugs...it is a love that is pure, genuine and heart-felt!  She ADORES her "Tinny" (Finny) which reminds us of how a certain KK and Addie felt about their older sista's... and believe me, Tinny gives that love right back like You and Anna did to their baby sister's!

So, Addie and Mr. Chris won "TyeDyed" for Finn on Father's Day which is a large stuffed animal that made it to the beach.  One of Finn's favorite things to do is to wake up early at the beach to spend quiet time with Bon Bon.  She doesn't speak but immediately crawls in her lap and snuggles.  If it's quiet enough she'll fall back to sleep.  One morning, she and Tyedyed crawled in her lap and no one was around for a pic but can't you just picture it...Bon Bon in her chair, Finn snuggled up on her chest and Tyedyed under Finn's arm. Oh, how I wish we had a pic but it is clear as a bell in my mind.  

                                     

                           

I can't begin to describe Anna as a momma and Addie as an Aunt.  They are truly amazing-

Wrapping up 2017

Sista, I think of you so much and oh what a year this has been. It's still very hard to believe that you aren't here with us experiencing all the wonderful things that life brings!  It's early on a Sunday morning, the house is quiet and I'm looking at the beautiful Christmas tree lights.  This weekend the house has been full of family as Addie, Anna, Ryan and the girls have been visiting.  Finn loves Christmas and has been singing carols for months now (just like her Grandmama Cindy.)  It's so hard to believe she's already 3 and it's amazing all the joy she has brought us.  She is so loving and kind, independent and strong, smart and beautiful.  This September Finn got a baby sister-Florence Irene, aka Flora.  She is the sweetest little angel, she has dimples in both cheeks and even her chin.  She just snuggles in your arms and makes everything in the world just right.  Don't you find it amazing how you have an influence on a child you didn't even get a chance to know?  I see so much of you in Finn, I know it's because Anna is so like you, Addie is an amazing aunt, Jacob is such a good poppy, Bon Bon is well...Bon Bon, enough said and Ryan is a fabulous daddy.  And I know that all those influence Finn along with many others but I see you in her so often.  This Christmas when Finn came down the stairs (I hear it was at a pretty fast pace...) she ran straight to Flora's Santa stash and said "look Flo-Flo, look at what Santa brought you" and took her a toy...before she even looked at her own gifts from Santa.  Sound familiar? Does to me-sounds just like a big sister I had growing up.  Always looking out for me and happy for me in every way-  I'll come back to the Evans family in a bit.

Preparing for the BBQ Fundraiser for Cindy's Place

December was a happening month.  Addie Caroline graduated from USC with honors, I agree-where did these girls get it?  She majored in art studio with an art history minor.  She has worked hard and persevered overcoming some major obstacles, including losing 3 grandparents and 1 parent before ever starting college.  I'm so  unbelievably proud of her and I know you are too-  Jacob and Dana threw her a wonderful graduation party and she celebrated the friends and family that helped her get there and WE celebrated HER!  She is so much like you too-she loves with all her heart and gives to others so freely!  She sees the positives in everything/everyone that crosses her path and treasures family.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for her!

Please note the smeared letters on the cake...Finn loves running her fingers through the icing!  She always leaves her mark😉

We had a wonderful Dennis Christmas this year with family.  Mammaw is not doing well, at 98 she knows Momma most days but struggles with the rest of us.  It's so tough to watch her eyes fade away but am thankful to see her spunk shine through some every now and then.  We are so fortunate when it comes to family and I'm grateful for all we have and the memories we were able to make for so many years.  It's hard on Mom and Uncle Phil as you can imagine, this road is not easy or for the faint of heart.  So, if you could send down a little extra hug to them during the next month that would be great!

Sally and I have our house on the market and may have a buyer (after 25 years of living there, it's a hard goodbye but it's time!)  We had some great times on that porch with either coffee or beer *more beer than coffee but both were great!  Sally will graduate from seminary in June of 2018 and we'll see where we go from there.  We're living in Charlotte right now and absolutely love it so we're hoping we will hang there for a while.  We call ourselves Grand-Aunts and because of Finn, Harper Anne (Will's little one, can you believe it!?) and Flora, we will not move too far away as we once gave thought.  Amazing how much those little ones tug at your heartstrings!

So, now let's talk life!  So many people suffer losses and the wound seems fresh for way too long.  "It'll get easier" they say, "you have great memories" they say, "she was a good one" they say...and you know what?  It's not easier, just different-as we've coined it our "new normal" and the memories are fantastic and I'm lucky to have them, I'm just greedy and want more, and yes you are a good one and so are many, many others.  So, this Christmas season my heart goes out to all those trying to find their new normal, reliving those memories and reminiscing on all the wonderful things about their loved one.  Live as though your loved one is right beside you because they actually are!
It's just a new normal-like standing in Mt Tabor Lutheran Church this December holding a sleeping Flora in my arms and watching Finn sing during her Sunday School Christmas program made me smile and cry all at the same time.  Your heart would've exploded with pride and joy over watching that little angel, I want to say it's not fair that you're not there to watch it but in reality I know that you are, I'm just selfish enough to want to see your smile in person!  I wanted to see you beam with pride as you watched Addie walk across the stage at your own Alma Mater.  I want to hear you talk about your late night conversations with Anna or your early morning snuggles with Addie.  And as I reflect, the only way I have the feeling of that want is because of memories I've experienced of just those things!  And for that I am eternally grateful, it's called joy!  I'm joyful that I have memories that matter, that impact me to this day, that guide some of my decisions, that keep me grounded in what is important in life.  It's not easy, life is hard, it's like Addie's canvas' that start blank and turns into something special...LIFE💝

January 2017 started and Finished May 2nd, 2017! Just my style I guess

Really, this is January 2017??   Sista, that means 5 years ago today life was normal for us (us being those that know and love you) and a few of us were preparing for a weekend trip to the mountains.  That was such a fun weekend but signs that I didn't realize were there.  Those signs...not the focus on this blog.  Talking about you is probably one of my favorite things to do though it is often through tears or choked words...but more often with smiles and laughs which are definitely my favorites!  At this point, I am the same age you were when you passed away.  You would've been 52 in April and I will be 52 in May.  Considering you are my older sister, I certainly never thought about catching up until much later in life.  NOT my call and most definitely not my plan, but that isn't the focus of this blog either! To have had you as a Sista was certainly amazing.

 The point of this blog is to talk about family and most specifically Finn.  She is a fun, loving, compassionate, energetic, outdoor loving, best hugging 2 year old!

A Birthday hug for Bon Bon

 So, today is May 2nd 2017.  I am 52 years old and I have been looking to this birthday with mixed emotions!  Sista, you did not make it to your 52nd birthday...hard to imagine but true. You died in February before your 52nd birthday in April. In some ways I feel like I'm just learning to live and others I feel like the wise old owl!  Look at the face in the pics and can you believe that we will have another little angel come September (when I started this blog in January I didn't know about this newest little angel.)  She will be different than Finn but I know she will show the love that Finn does now!  It's modeled every single day!  The joy that comes with new life battles the grief that's lost with lives gone.  I wake up each and every day thankful to be ALIVE, knowing full well that it could be my last!  I try to live it with that knowledge-

This weekend will be the Cindy Roof Wilkerson Foundation 5k, "RUN SO KIDS CAN PLAY"  and whether we make money off of this event or not we are raising awareness of Cindy's Place and the importance of building a community of movers!

I have yet to blog without an uncontrollable weeping session which is why it is my therapy.  If you know me well you know that I'm not a writer.  Actually, I hate it!  I remember being in elementary school and writing "I will not talk in class" or "I will not disrupt class" or "I will not (I don't know but I'm sure I did something else!!)" 100 times.  I even had a spiral notebook full of "I will not..." so I could fill in the blank at night.  And in 4th grade I remember HATING Creative Writing!  I attribute it to writing as punishment which is my main argument to this day for exercise as punishment. Walking or any other form of exercise should NEVER be used as a source of punishment and taking a recess shouldn't be either! So, blogging as an outlet for me is an interesting thought but it just goes to show that we can make mistakes and still make some changes later on!

 

So, even if you hated exercise when you were young just know that feelings can change.  I learned to write and you can learn to exercise!  Come walk with us Saturday and celebrate being alive!  Run/Walk so kids can play because we ALL want to play sometime.

If you read this it's because you love SOMEONE that loved Cindy and for that I am forever grateful!
Because she was loved, others make relationships and connect by communing together in Cindy's Place at Springdale Elementary.  Aren't we fortunate?!

"About Time" March 2015

Hey Sista, I've been planning this blog for a couple of weeks now.  Finally in the frame of mind to sit down and write it.  I know I'll leave things out, it's just who I am :) but let me just say that I miss you beyond words and oh how I wish I could physically share with you all that is going on!  Life is good, it really is! Do you remember lying in bed at night when we were young ( I know it's all relative, but for those of you that don't know we shared a double bed until Cindy went off to college which means I would've been 13 and she 18.) and you would ask me things about your wedding dress, kids names, OMG the list could go on forever, and we'd talk about life when we were actually adults?? We didn't think of it in those terms but it's what we talked about.  All the while, "Christopher Robin" played on the record player by Loggins and Messina helping me go to sleep.  It seems weird now to look back on those days and know that you had a plan, a vision. You taught me from the day I was born and I tried really hard to listen and learn but looking back, it was a little overload for me.  You had so much to give, it was hard to keep up.  Guess who got it??? Anna and Addie!! They are so you it is really hard to believe.  They think like you, they love like you and they give like you.  Could you really ask for more?  I know, you were proud of them no matter what...same here!  But, honestly, you can't craft more loving, responsible and respectful girls.  Anna is the mom you could've only imagined her to be.  Finn is a lucky girl and I believe she knows it.  Anna and Ryan work so well as a team and Finn relishes in the fact that she is loved.  She is a blessing beyond blessings, there are no words that express the joy she has brought into all of our lives! The Evans family are true love and devotion and it's wonderful to sit back and watch that unfold.  Finn knows that her Bon Bon loves her and they have a special bond.  Addie is thriving as a college student (I know, how does that work in our family but she has CERTAINLY figured it out!) and Finn couldn't possibly ask for a better aunt.  I love her to the moon and back!!!
So, last week I went to Seattle to present at the National PE Conference "ShapeAmerica" with Sabrina.  It was a wonderful experience and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to share with my colleagues.  Sabrina and I work really well together (remember when the 3 of us presented at the SC PE Conference. It was a blast!!)  The convention was powerful, uplifting, inspirational...but I missed you so!  I found myself wanting to call you to ask a question or call to say how great it is.  You would have been right there with me and I felt you throughout the week.

One of the things we used to talk about was how Mammaw and Grandaddy were ahead of their time and so were Mom and Dad.  They were inclusive people, ALL were welcome at their house. Nowadays that is more of the norm than the exception but we still aren't there. Society still doesn't get it, they want everyone to fit inside of the same box.  How did you understand so early on that not everyone had to fit inside that box?  I spent 2 hours yesterday afternoon at my church having a discussion about same-sex marriage and whether it should be allowed in our sanctuary.  I'm empowered by the conversation and I feel that I'm able to listen to others and share my own thoughts because of those late night talks in the double bed and listening to Loggins/Messina! Back in the early 1970's I bet you had no idea that this would be a topic at a church.  I'm proud of our church for coming to the table to talk, I wish everyone is as open to ALL people being God's people as you were but all I can say is thank you for loving unconditionally all those years ago.  I don't fit inside a box, and I'm proud that my family doesn't expect everyone to be the same.

Last night was "Faith and Film" at church.  We gather to watch a movie and then discuss it afterwards.  We watched a movie called "About Time" which gave one of the actors the chance to go back in time and change how things turned out.  Not typically my style of movie but I highly recommend it! Moral of the movie was to live life fully each and every day! It wasn't a huge revelation for me, I do try to think of others and make choices based on how I feel and how it affects others. But powerful for sure!

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and left it as a draft.  I have since taken a trip to Manchester, Vermont to join Sally and her Converse friends at the beautiful Manchester Inn B & B. Julie (a Converse friend) and Frank Hanes opened their B & B to our crew of 16 and it was wonderful.  To sit and listen to them reminisce was a treat.  To see love and respect float around everyone was invigorating.  What a wonderful group of people, most I met for the first time and a few I've met only once.  But I felt like a part of their family, I was included, I was loved...

Thanks Sista, for teaching me to include, to love...


Love ya Sista

Griffin, Finn, Cutest thing you've ever seen!!!

January, 2015 are you kidding me?  February 25th is just around the corner and the 3 year mark is approaching.  I last wrote on November 23rd with the note that Finn was coming but on her own time...sound familiar?  Water broke the morning of the 24th and Finn was on her way!  Doc said she will have a November 24th birthday...she waited until the 25th!  Wouldn't give anything for the 17+ hours we hung out and congratulated ALL of the other families that celebrated their newborns that day.  When Finn decided she would grace us with her presence she was more perfect than we could ever imagine!  I know you chatted with her and loved on her before she was born so you know what a little angel she is-but as excited as we were for her we had NO idea of the depth of joy she would bring. 

Finn looks like you and Daddy in the picture on the left but she is so her Daddy as noted in the picture on the right.  Mostly she looks like Ryan but every now and then she gives you that Addie, Shimmy, Cindy look!





There are no words for the joy that she has brought us this Christmas season.  Life is good!  It always has been but for me it's gets a little clouded sometimes.  I try to be strong, knowing how we roll, always looking for the positive, finding the happy in our lives.  It's been there and will always be but Finn just opens my eyes WIDE-OPEN.  A gift from God, a true blessing, more than words can describe!  I was so emotional before she was born about how I wish you could hold her, teach her your sayings, just be in her life. But, now I feel like you are ALWAYS with her, I'm more at peace with that part of it than I ever thought I would be.

Sista, you would be so unbelievably proud of both of your girls!  Anna is an awesome mom, she has been in training for years now just like you were-(remember how you fed me on your lap with a baby spoon when I was about 12?!)  And Addie-just WOW! She is not only rocking out the grades in college and working so hard in that area, she is the most amazing aunt!  She has a connection with Finn like no other.  She is such an amazing person, I just sit back sometimes and take in all of the awesomeness!  You and Jacob "done good!" your girls are thoughtful, kind, respectful, responsible...that list can go on-

There are so many fabulous people in Finn's life and for that I'm grateful!  Ryan has a loving family that also thinks Finn hung the moon and they have friends that spend time with her which makes a difference.  Anna and Ryan and all of their friends and family will forever do what is best for her and love her unconditionally!  I sometimes think of how Anna and Addie had 4 grandparents and then what seemed like a blink of the eye they have 1.  So, Bon Bon there are so many great pics of you and Finn but this is one of my favorites!  You're singing her a song and I can think back and hear those same words all those years ago-

To reminisce on times gone before and look forward to great things to come is a gift!  Here is a pic of 4 of my favorite people looking at photo albums of years past but making memories of years to come!

So, tonight I am thankful for all of the glorious things 2014 brought us...special marriages, a bundle of joy and relationships that matter...always!


Love ya Sista, forever and always!

November 23, 2014

A quick blog before church this morning.  We know Griffin's, aka Finn, debut is soon, just not sure exactly when.  The range of emotions in the past few weeks for me has been overwhelming.  I absolutely can't wait to meet her officially.  I already know her, know she is loved beyond words, know she is protected by wonderful parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents and countless friends and family.  Cindy, I know you are so proud of Anna.  She and Ryan have created a loving home for Finn and will be wonderful parents.  She will know you and feel your love her entire life.  So, when Finn decides to grace us with her presence she will be showered with nothing but love!  I'll be back to blog VERY soon-
Love ya Sista!!

November...oh my what all do you have in store for us!!

So Fall is moving on and the year is flying by-how things can change in such a short period of time.  Addie is 21, can you believe it?!  Such a love, such an angel, so mature and she has your drive and determination.  She's making us proud each and every day-
Baby Finn is due any day now!  Anna and Ryan are ready and have the nursery looking great.  They are going to be awesome parents and she will be surrounded by love!  I know I'll be her great-aunt but I feel a little like a grandmama (crazy I know but my heart is just so full.)  Finn has more love for her already and she hasn't even made her debut yet!  I had some sweet teachers at school today holding my phone for me while I was in the pool with the 4th graders all day.  Just in case that text/call comes through while I'm out of reach.  Otherwise, that phone is attached to me.

It snowed in West Columbia on November 1st...did you have something to do with that :)  Snow brings up some great memories!  Thanks for bringing those on early this year-looks like we could be in for a cold, snowy Winter.

Election Day was yesterday-lots of things happening but for one the bond referendum passed and Lexington Two will be making some major improvements on the school buildings.  Springdale is due for the overhaul and Cindy's Place is still going strong.  Looking forward to a great year and more great things happening there.  I'll upload some pics during the next blog.  Should have some new action happening by then.

Our family is good-never a dull moment!  You're missed beyond words but we know we are who we are partly because of you!  So, you are in each and every day, in more ways than we can share.  I was cleaning out the storage room upstairs yesterday and came across this card you sent me.  I miss you...a whole bunch too!