Jackie's Tribute to Melinda
Melinda, as I remember her. She was:
The one to let me crawl into her bed when I was young and scared at night.
The one who pressed a hot cookie sheet to my cheek when I pestered her.
The one spinning me around before I lost my balance and hit my forehead on a chair. Permanent scar from that evening’s fun.
The one to “allow” me to ride my bike with her way to Mrs. Johns’ house to help pull weeds.
The one with loads of clothes that needed to be moved to and from College. Good for her to have all those younger siblings to help with those moves. Did that make up for all those diapers she had to fold?
The one to make room for me in her apartment one summer so I could take Chemistry at the Univ. of DE.
The one to co-sign a loan so I could attend Graduate School.
The one who enjoyed competition. Whether it was rooting for her favorite team or actually participating, Linny was enthusiastic doing so.
I was glad when Linny finally got a phone to allow her to send texts. Before then I had sporadic communication with her since I didn’t live in her area. We had more communications after that. She was my go to in sending pictures via my phone so Mom could see too. It was also so much easier to send her “left handed” jokes.
Although the circumstances sucked, I had good talks with Linny while we packed up Mom’s apartment. Taking her out to eat and making her a cake were nothing in comparison to being able to tell her face to face that I appreciated all she did for Mom and that she had my respect for being the good, trustworthy person that she was. At heart, Linny was a very giving person. I loved her and will miss her.