With Love for @califmom from @VDog & @Room704
My Momma always told me that Gladiolas reminded her of dead people. She’s had enough people up and die on her that she would know. Apparently Gladiolas are a popular funeral “spray” flower. A “funeral spray” looks oddly like a wedding arrangement if you ask me.
But I’m getting off topic. On April 18, 2010, my dearest Leah, aka @califmom, became a widow. Her dearest Bob battled non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for over a year. Leah is the second very young woman (another local friend being the second) I know to have been widowed because of Lymphoma. My Mom was widowed in her early 50’s because of Lymphoma.
However, Leah’s case is particularly heartbreaking because of the beautiful love affair between Leah and Bob and the fact that their two beloved children are only eleven and thirteen.
Leah’s circumstances are so similar to mine, and yet so, so different that I know, and yet do not know, the pain Leah, Drew & Aunnie are feeling.
The women of Room 704 want to show Leah some love in this shitacular time:
Sending you love, peace, and strength. Also, even more awesome stuff like bewb smooshes and ass slaps. Love to you, m’lady.
~Lotus
.
Leah – I adore you and not just because you don’t gloat when you kick my ass in Words With Friends. And not just because when I lose my iPhone at 4 in the morning when I’m at a hotel in Nashville, you tweet me ways to MacGyver my laptop into a flashlight to find my phone under the bed. I adore you because you are strength – I have had my heart simultaneously broken and patched together over the past year following you through Bob’s illness through your blog and tweets. Through it all, through whatever life threw at you, you carried yourself with strength and humor. God, the humor. I have so much respect for you and your grace, and the love you have for Bob always made me smile. And that black hat? Pure awesome.
~Room 704
Want to help? Please don’t send flowers. Instead, donate via Pledgie or to your favorite charity in memory of Bob Norling.
5 Responses to “With Love for @califmom from @VDog & @Room704”
Leave a Reply
Teenaged girls should not have the key to their own flower by @alotofnothing
So, I have this friend. She shared this story with me back when she was 16. Back when boys were stupid and girls didn’t believed it. This friend had an on-and-off boyfriend as most high school “relationships” go. This boy was a dick as most teenage boys are. This friend had had a few boyfriends and had been [...]
[...] Seriously? Flowers are totally going to help them feel better right? Flowers will make it all better yes? Oh except for no, no they won’t. Especially Gladiolas. [...]
SO much love and rainbow-farting unicorns to you and your family, Leah.
[Reply]
Holy fuck, I love you guys! Let me count the ways…um, first, because one of Bob’s favorite t-shirts had a marshmallow-shitting unicorn on it, and now, I might stand a chance at being a little bit as awesome as that t-shirt wearing man; second, because you know how to make a girl humbled and honored and blessed to be your friends just by using your words; and third because I got to use semicolons at 1:43am, although I’m not sure if I used them appropriately. Promise me you won’t tell my English teacher, Mrs. Bateman. She’d be mortified.
[Reply]
Somehow my message got left off (*cough*), but all my love to Leah and the kids. I can’t even fathom what they’re going through, but Leah carries it off with grace and strength.
#fuckcancer
[Reply]
When we were visualizing Jesus and the unicorn, full of healing energy, to try to save Bob, I rather imagined Jesus in something like a Roman chariot, being pulled by one or two unicorns.
I imagine that Bob and Jesus can race unicorn-drawn chariots together, now.
So much love to Leah and the kids. & #fuckcancer!
[Reply]