Margaret Reisz

In October of 2011 Mike and I decided to use our vacation to go home and visit his family in Tennessee. Both sets of our parents had recently turned 70 and we wanted to spend some valuable time with them. I don't know why we decided it was time but we were both sure that this is what we needed to do for our week long vacation.

Chuck and Margaret picked us up at the Nashville airport and we went to Chappy's for lunch. Chappy's is a fine dinning Cajun style restaurant in the downtown area. Afterwards we took Mike to this famous Guitar shop downtown called Gruhn Guitar. Many of the famous country singers buy guitars from this beautiful shop in the thick of Nashville's downtown. We visited a local park and took some fabulous pictures that are forever going to be some of the most important pictures that I have ever taken. We went to his parent's home in Fairfield Glade and enjoyed the beautiful trees and company. Chuck and I went for drives in his red convertible Porsche. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.

After a few days with Mike's parents my Mom and Dad flew into Crossville in his flight students Cessna 182 RG. We spent a few days with both sets of parents. They seemed to get along perfectly and we wondered why we hadn't done this sooner. Mike gave my Mother the Martin guitar that he bought for her. He and my Mother played music the rest of the trip. When we returned home we could not stop talking about what a wonderful time we had. It was a little unexpected that we would have such a genuinely fun time just hanging with our parents.

Fast forward to Feburary 2012. We went on a ski trip with some friends and family. The day we return we find out that Margaret is in the hospital. There is not any good news to be found. She has pancreatic cancer and they tell her that she might live 13 months. They tell her that treatment isn't an option but they can do radiation and chemo to help her quality of life. She agrees to it and we are happy that she will hopefully be around for a year.

In that time, Mike is recording some songs for her and sending them via email. She is writing us an email a day and we talk to her on the phone almost daily. It is a wonderful time to reflect on how much she means to us. I had always knew that I loved her but it felt like now we were learning to really connect. To become friends. She tells me how happy she is that Mike and I found each other. I had heard her say these things before but this time it just sounds different. More sincere and absolutely passionate. Margaret loved her family, flowers, trees and animals. During this time she loved to talk about these things with love in her heart.

She talked about the things she would like to do before she passed. She said she would love to see the ocean again. Her family had spent a good deal of their vacations on the beach. She loved sea shells and even has a bowl of them on her coffee table in the great room. She also asked that instead of a funeral she would prefer for all of us to get together and have a picnic. She wanted to do it before she passed so she could be there. So we planned this party for April 28th.

The radiation didn't go as planned. She felt much worse instead of better. She decided to stop the treatment and enjoy the rest of her life. Mike made a trip about every other week. I came at the end of March just before my birthday. She was looking very good and we went out to eat at Lefty's a really yummy bbq place. We bought some plants and we mowed the yard for her. She and Chuck surprised me with my favorite Baskin Robbins birthday cake since my birthday was April 3rd. After a wonderful dinner, Margaret and Joan (her daughter) pulled out the table cloth and her nice china and they sang happy birthday to me. It was such a fabulous night and we all enjoyed being together. It was the highlight of my 42nd birthday.

Sadly, Margaret would not make it to the end of April. She passed on Sunday morning April 22nd. It just happened to be Earth Day which was an important part of her life. She was a firm believer in recycling and she loved the wonders of this magical place called earth. Her husband, sister and daughter were at her side taking care of her until the end of her time on this earth. I was working and Mike was at home and it was sad knowing that this was the last day her earthly body would be with us.

On Monday I had a long layover in Minneapolis and I went to the wildlife refuge a few miles from our layover hotel. I called Mike and told him about this spot where I was sitting. There were birds everywhere and it was so loud that it was almost comical. There was a squirrel and a chipmunk milling around the area where I was sitting. I told him that his mother would love this place. His response was it wouldn't surprise me if she is there with you now.