Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Missy had such an adventurous soul! I shared her love of travel, and had always hoped that we could take some of the guided tours she loved so much after I retired. Her time on earth was cut way too short. When my son got his pilot's license, Missy shared with him some of the various instruments and accoutrements she had purchased when she got her pilot's license. When my daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, Missy shared her story with me and prayed for Lesley along with me. When Missy's cancer returned, I was almost as devastated as she was. We kept in touch and she shared her journey with me. We always planned to get together, but somehow it never happened. The last time Missy and I talked was the week before Christmas. Missy said that she had been terribly disappointed that Starbucks didn't have their usual gingerbread that she was so looking forward to. I looked up a recipe and bought the ingredients to make gingerbread for Missy and to take a can of Redi-Whip because she said Becky was on a dairy-free diet and she said she missed it so! Christmas was a very hectic time for me, as usual, and I was planning to make the gingerbread tomorrow, actually. I never dreamed that she didn't have that much time left, but she did tell me she was trying to hang on until the first of the year, so I should have known. It just didn't seem possible. Although Missy and I hadn't seen each other much in the past few years, we talked via Facebook Messenger and I thought of her as a very good friend. She and I shared a deep love for our animals and we would always commiserate when one of ours was sick or had passed. Missy was a beautiful person inside and out; sweet, thoughtful, kind, caring, and fiercely loyal to her family and friends. In our last conversation, Missy and I talked about death, and she said she had made peace with it. We talked about our idea of how Heaven would be. I told her I thought it would be full of everything and everyone we loved, and all of our animals would be there with us. I hope Missy is there now, pain free, at peace, and feeling all the love from everyone who knew her. I will selfishly miss her here on earth and grieve for her, but I think she would tell us not to. My love and prayers go to Becky and Mrs. Mohr. May God's grace and love give you peace.
With all my love,
Melissa Russell
