Cassie had a way of making people smile. She reveled in her quirks and she flaunted her weirdness. That made Halloween her time to shine. It’s as if she thought to herself, “What costume could I wear, that no one else ever would?” I tried to do the same this year. As I did, I was reminded of an important purpose in wearing costumes and disguises.
One day, I noticed Cassie was sitting alone eating a pop-tart, so I made a comment about it. Next thing I know, I’m sitting at this high school lunch table with the funniest, cutest girl I’d ever met. At that table she made me feel like I was a better person just for being around her. She made me want to be better, then showed me how just by sharing her life. And over a couple of pop-tarts, she wound up being the first person to ever invite me to church.
At her memorial, I told everyone that “Sunflowers were Cassie’s favorite flowers.” But there was a period where she hated them… no thanks to me. I took a trip out to see a field of them anyways. They say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But maybe they should say it’s in the heart of the beholder…
Between Cassie and I, one of our most memorable dates was going to St. Cloud Lakefront to watch the fireflies. And one of the things we were looking forward to most about summer in West Virginia was catching them with our nieces. Fireflies come with the reminder that there is hope in the darkness, even if they can’t dispel it.
Cassie’s relatives provide countless reminders of her, with all the little quirks they shared. But there is one person in particular who has an absurd amount of the same attributes Cassie had. She, like so many others, have helped me to rebuild something broken—an identity.
Ever since that first moment I was called “Uncle Rich” (or Uncle Ritchie), I’ve had an overwhelming desire to claim the title of Favorite Uncle! It was a dream that Cassie supported wholeheartedly, and that she even made her own. In fact, if we got to be near any of those seven nieces of ours, Cass would go out of her way to make me play with them. Because two of those nieces went with me to West Virginia, I was bursting at the seams with excitement, thinking of all the things we could do together.
Cassie’s first trip with me to West Virginia was not very fun for her. She despised frigid air, cramped road trips and talking to near strangers through a stuffy nose. But she looked forward to sunshine, outdoor adventures and sharing life with kin. See, God made a promise: The world will keep spinning, winters will pass, summers will come and life will thrive again. I went to West Virginia with that same promise in mind.
Cassie was always proud of her zealous work ethic. Even when she was sick, she would refuse to use up any of her sick days. Accordingly, Cassie had no empathy for my sicknesses whatsoever. I found myself with a nasty head-cold while in Belfast, and it was hands-down one of the worst experiences since my wife passed away.
Part 0 (The Dream) — Part 1 (The Fog) — Part 2 (The Hike) — Part 3 (The Colors) — Part 4 ( The Flu) — Part 5 (The Flowers) — Part 6 (The Cathedrals) — Part 7 (The Rest) Everyone who ever lived with Cassie knew she dressed well, Read more…
If there was one thing Cassie hated, it was weddings. She used to love them until she had to have one for herself. The running joke leading up to our wedding (and for a long time afterwards) was that we had a wedding because I wanted it, not because Cassie Read more…