A Tribute to My Sister

This is my sister, Kristen.

Four years ago today (September 9, 2002) Krissy was killed in a car accident. She was the loving mother of two, Alana (5) and Timothy (2). She was one month shy of her 23rd birthday.






This is Kristen with her children at our sister's wedding in November 2001.




This is a "sisters picture." From left to right: Kate, Krissy, Emily, me, Lisa. This was Christmas at my aunt's in the late 90's (I'm assuming).





Kristen and my father during her "daddy-daughter dance" at her wedding (February 1998).





Another sisters picture. From left: Emily, Krissy, Lisa, Kate, me. (June 2001)



Another sisters picture (one of the last ones taken), at Kate's wedding November 2001. Top from left: Emily, Brenda (my brother's wife), me. Bottom from left: Krissy, Kate, Lisa.


And this picture of Krissy is from the last time I saw her. March 30, 2002.

Krissy was living in New York, and I was living in Ohio. Our entire family was together Easter weekend 2002. We missed each other during a July visit to Maryland by a few days.

Krissy

She was happy. She was kind and gentle. She was loving. She was so very special in so many ways. She was funny. She really couldn't get too angry with anyone. (We would laugh when she was mad, because she didn't really seem mad.) She was very mild and meek. She was clumsy and brittle.

She hated tomatoes and milk. She once broke her foot when she fell off the toilet. (Okay, she was standing on the toilet getting something off a shelf when she slipped.) She tripped over her shoelace and broke her wrist. She broke her other foot, too.

She had a smile that could light up the room. She laughed a lot.

It has been a very long and sad 4 years. Her life ended before it really began. She had so much to live for. Especially her dear children.

I try not to think about it much. It is too painful. Although I find myself thinking about it a lot. Especially lately. When I have my pregnancy insomnia.

Four long years.

Bless you, dear Krissy. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh Lera, what a sweet tribute and I am so sorry for your family. What a terrible tradegy. This just breaks my heart. I wish I could give you a hug.
10:47 AM EDT
Anonymous said…
(((Laura))) I wish I could've met her.
5:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said…
Four years is a long time in some sense, but such a short time as well. I don't know if people ever "recover" from something like losing a great friend. I'm sorry that you've been awake so much. There's something about being awake in the middle of the night that makes things feel more raw. I hope for God's peace and comfort on you in these last days before the baby comes.
6:08 PM EDT
laura capello said…
I'm glad you took the time to write about your sister; you've mentioned Krissy before.

I'm so sorry for your lost. She sounds like a wonderful person.
6:35 PM EDT
Anonymous said…
Hugs.
8:21 PM EDT
Anonymous said…
i'm so sorry you lost your wonderful sister. i really liked your post about her. i esp like your mention of her falling off the toliet and breaking her foot. it's those funny little things that we remember of loved ones that make us smile and cry.
hugs & kisses from me and babybug
11:50 PM EDT
beki said…
She sounds like such a beautiful person. How terribly sad that the world no longer has her. Big hugs to you!
4:13 PM EDT
Anonymous said…
Oh, Lera. I am so sorry.
4:53 PM EDT
Berber said…
I never knew, Lera... how awful to have to live without your sister! I can't imagine what that would feel like.
5:39 PM EDT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reusable Swiffer WetJet Cloths

Image
I promised myself that, when I bought a box of Swiffer WetJet refills at the wholesale club, it would be the last box I bought. Something had to be done. Now, to be honest, part of the reason was to help the environment, but the other part was because I was tired of running out of those darn things. I took some towels, folded them in half cut them into 5" widths. (The towel was just about 25" or so from side to side when flat.) Then I cut two 5" pieces of elastic and serged it all together. Two layers of toweling and two elastic strips. That's it. (The finished piece was approximately 4.75" x 12.") Within minutes I had a stack of eight. Slide them on and mop away. You will have a clean floor and have saved one more thing from ending up in the landfill. Now, if I can just do something about the cleaning liquid ... Something environmentally-friendly, economical, and won't cause further pain to my arthritic back.
Read more

Cloth Napkins

Image
Happy Earth Day! Last year I made a bunch of cloth napkins using the rolled hem feature of my serger. And, while we used them a lot in the beginning, I kind of forgot about them and paper napkins crept back into our lives. (Although, I must admit that paper are better for cleaning up spilled lemonade and for packing in my boys' lunches. I'm afraid I'd never see them again if they were in a lunchbox.) I am trying to be more mindful of our waste. I find myself asking, "Can I reuse, reduce, recycle, or repurpose this?" about every thing. I recently discovered our town has a receptacle just for paper recycling. That makes me giddy. We get tons of papers from school, so now I can load it up and drop them off at town hall. So, in honor of Earth Day, I am giving away this set of six cloth napkins. They are made from thrifted, vintage (therefore repurposed) sheets that are leftovers from various projects. If you'd like a chance to win them, please leave a comment on ...
Read more