Rewind

We had such a wonderful trip home to California in October, probably one of our best ever. There was no drama, which is rare, and we stayed just long enough without overdoing it. 

Each time we go home, however, we are reminded that two(well, three really) are missing. This past August marked the tenth anniversary of the passing of Paul's brother Jason and his wife, Tanya. Although the years have softened the blow, they don't erase the memories and the pain. I'll never forget that horrible late night phone call where Paul answered and then didn't say anything for what seemed like an eternity and when he finally spoke he only asked if the kids were in the car. At that point my heart sank and Paul didn't say much else before he hung up the phone. He then proceeded to tell me that they were in a car accident and that Tanya was thrown out and killed instantly and Jason had to be pried out with the jaws of life and taken to the hospital and was in surgery. We drove to Provo to tell Paul's brother Mike and then returned to our house and made arrangements to fly into Fresno the next morning. We went straight to the hospital and spent the next day and night there with Jason. He never regained consciousness, but we were grateful for the opportunity to say goodbye and see him one last time. I can remember almost everything about this period of time; the hospital, the family meeting where Paul's parents might have said a couple of inappropriate, but funny, comments regarding the burial, how their daughter Jessica was in disbelief and almost laughed because she didn't know what else to do when she was told her parents were dead and how Kassie, who was just barely walking, would walk around saying "mama" and when someone would pick her up, she cried when she saw it wasn't her mama. 

Jessica and Kassie are so grown up now and have hard times I'm sure, but they have so many family members who love them and would do anything for them. It's been hard to watch Paul's family deal with this, especially since they also lost another daughter/sister to a car accident a few years before. I can't imagine losing a sibling or child, let alone two, but am comforted in the knowledge of a life after this one.    

So with this being said, we fondly remember Jason and Tanya and are so grateful for the daughters they left behind.