This morning as I sat on my couch catching up with Facebook and not doing much of anything, I got a text from Omi with a picture of an invitation. She received an invite to the Meridian High School Honor Roll Breakfast. We have not received her grades yet, but she made the Honor Roll!!! She is in honor's core classes (English, Math, Biology). She works hard. I am proud of her. But I am proud of her for more than just good grades. Getting on the Honor Roll with a perfect life without challenges is accomplishment enough. But she has had one heck of a semester in school. First she had to deal with the obnoxious rumor that went around about her that stressed her out and made her cry in school. Then Nick died and she missed over a week of school. Add to that her social anxiety, general anxiety and PTSD. She is one amazing young woman. Most kids would crumble under this pressure. Their grades would tank and they would not be able to function. Losing her brother is still very very hard on her. Yet, she didn't just manage to keep school work together. She excelled!!!
When Omi sent me that message today, I cried for her. She has a goal. Her goal has been to take honors classes and graduated from high school with cords. And today she realized she is well on her way to reaching this goal. She is one smart and determined young woman! I admire her!
Of course, I told her to keep this filed away in her examples of "This is how awesome I am" memory drawer. If she ever doubts how strong she is, she only needs to remember this... getting on the Honor Roll even while dealing with the anxieties, bullying and grieving her big brother.
As if that wasn't enough amazing news for one day....
Suzy came down stairs with tears in her eyes. She had just heard from the personal injury lawyers we retained after Nick's accident. They have finally come to a final number in the settlement. We had the numbers for personal and property injury from the insurance settlement. But we also found out how much the woman who hit and killed Nick was worth. She is not a struggling senior citizen. She isn't a millionaire, but at 83 years old, she has plenty in her pockets and enough to leave her kids sitting pretty if she died today. So we did ask for her to kick in some cash on top of the insurance. We asked for a certain amount. They came back with a counter offer 25K less than we had originally asked. Suzy sent them back to make another offer. The result came back with the original number we asked for. This is so bitter sweet. We are grateful that Suzy will have the money to be cared for. She has enough money to make sure the medical bills are covered. She has enough money to set herself up for success for life on her own. But no amount of money will bring Nick back to her or to us. However, it is great news. It's one less weight on her shoulders. One more thing we can check off the list. Now we just need probate to be over with for her. *sigh*
And, of course, because I can't stay serious for too long, I said to Suzy, "Suzy, you have just won the settlement you have been working on???!!!!! What are you going to do next????"......I answered for her.. "I'm going to Disney World!!!" We laughed.. because, well, it's true. We ARE going to Disney World in May when we go back to Florida for Nick's college graduation, where she will walk the stage to receive his diploma.
We hugged and we cried today. Cried for the man that we loved and lost. We cried from relief. We cried because Nick would be so happy and proud for Naomi.
Even as I type this, I cry. Like I said, no amount of money will bring back my boy. I would take him over all the riches in the world! I'm pretty certain Suzy would too.
Then I was off to coffee with my friend Kristine. She lost her brother not too long ago. We both agree that grief is a weird and strange thing. What we learn about ourselves in these experiences is amazing. Grief is almost a beautiful thing. It is complex. It is life changing. It is a profound time of growth and learning. I don't wish it on my worst enemy, but for those of us who have lost a child or someone so very close to us, there is gold hidden in the mountain called Grief.
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