"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"

My grandmother's ring is on my right hand. This Christmas, she and I sat by each other at the table and laughed, talked, and ate an awesome meal. That was the last time I ever saw her. 

At 1:58 p.m. on January 2, 2010, she passed away. It all happened very quickly, and because of this, we are all still in shock right now. My grandmother, Dott Thomas, was an incredible woman. She was a phenomenal mother and grandmother. She was there for all of our sporting events, school plays, pageants, graduations, recitals, concerts, and any other event that involved her children or grandchildren. She taught me how to throw a football. When we were kids, she played baseball and tag with us. She took pride in her independence, setting a good example for the five grandkids that adored her. While some women in their 70's enjoy hobbies like knitting, our grandmother decided to try riding motorcycles.....and LOVED it. She liked to travel with friends, shop, and go walking in the morning. She could pull off the color orange like nobody else I know. Instead of allowing her four grandsons to take care of her yard work for her, she insisted on doing it herself. My grandmother had a gold car and gold shoes, and moved around quickly in both. In fact, I am pretty sure she stopped paying attention to speed limit signs about a decade ago, which is a genetic trait that I must have gotten. When she passed away, she was 75 years old. But, you would have never known it. You would have never known it at all.

Her ring is on my right hand. Her genes are in my blood. Her influence is in my being. Her love is in my heart.