Unbelievable...

It is with much sadness and to a great extent, disbelief, that I write this post. Dianna Sue Tibbs (Tibbsette to my family), passed away early this morning. I received a phone call from Tibbs (her husband) around 10 o'clock this morning. I was surprised when I saw his name come up on my cell phone. I immediately answered and he asked what I was up to. I told him I was heading to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. He told me to have a good time and be careful on the roadways. We were expecting an ice storm and he said the roads may get pretty bad.

Up to this point, I kept thinking to myself that it didn't make sense that Tibbs would be calling me at that time of day... especially on a Sunday morning. I finally asked him if everything was alright. That's when he told me he had called to let me know that Tibbsette had passed away earlier that morning. I was stunned. I mean like you could knock me over with a feather, stunned. Pablo was sitting across the table from me and could tell I had received shocking news. Even as I write this it is hard to believe that she has passed away. As the conversation was coming to a close, Tibbs told me again to have a fun time at the farm show, and to stop by when I got back from Harrisburg. Needless to say, Pablo recognized that I was in no shape to go, and instead suggested that we go to Tibbs' house instead. That's what we ended up doing. And I'm so glad we did.

Tibbsette was Lesa's mother. I had become friends with the Tibbs family long before Lesa was diagnosed with cancer. From that point forward, however, our friendship just got stronger. I truly loved being with Tibbsette. She was a hoot. I laughed more than one time at some of her antics. One of her funnier stories involved being busted by the police for having beer on the beach. She was with a group of her lady friends that she had worked with before she retired. They thought they were being pretty slick when they put their beer inside of those cooler rings (the kind you get at football games and such). Well, that proved ineffective when a police officer came along and asked to see what they were drinking. B-U-S-T-E-D!!! He made them dump the beer, and told them the only reason he wasn't citing them was because they were older ladies (all were in their mid 60's) who were minding their own business, and not causing any trouble. That said, however, they were given a reprimand about not bringing beer to the beach again. Hahahahahahahaha....

I am so thankful that I was able to spend time recently with Tibbs and Tibbsette. They were here with us on Thanksgiving, I had lunch with her, Tibbs, and their daughter, Sherry, on December 27th, and I saw her again on New Year's Day. I hosted my annual pork and kraut feed with extended family and friends. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I was so shocked to hear the news of Tibbsette's passing. In spite of the fact that she had been experiencing health problems in recent months, she was doing well on New Year's Day. Actually, she seemed much better that day than she had been on Thanksgiving. I'm sure as the days go by I will find myself thinking of more memories I shared with Tibbsette. Things won't be the same without her. My heart breaks for Tibbs. He has had to say good-bye to a daughter, and now his wife of 51 years. Even with the knowledge of eternal life, it's still sad losing a loved one here in mortality.

It goes without saying that I'll be keeping a close eye on Tibbs. The girls and I love him more than words can express. I know that we cannot fill the void left by Tibbsette's passing, but I do hope we can help "lighten his load." For now that is all we can do.