I believe that when Markelle closed her eyes to me, she opened them to the Lord!!!
It is so big for me when I think of Markelle and all that her 10 years were about.
First I think of how beautiful she was and the love of life that she had. Then I think of the strength she had from the very beginning. She fought hard to live and did it longer than anyone ever thought possible.
Markelle loved Mikalie and wanted more than anything to be just like her. She loved the babies in our family… She loved to play with them and even trained Gage to act like a dog and he would bite everyone but her. Markelle loved her people! Her people that never thought twice about walking the rough road with us…
She was stinkin funny! She was able to talk smack and was cute enough about it that she didn’t get in trouble. She made jokes and really she was funny… oh and the quirky things that she loved. I loved to see her laugh and when she would crack her own self up she would laugh from the bottom of her belly and her nose would flare :-) I miss her smile and laugh...
She loved art. We were the “Art Project Queens”! When she was in the hospital we would do project after project. Her room was covered in her great art. She painted, cut, drew, colored, collaged, did that plastic cross stitch stuff and painted some more... The many buckets of stuff we did and still she wanted more to do. Then while we waited for more supplies, if we ran out in an evening or on Sunday, she would just cut up the styrofoam cups. The bags we would take home of art projects were endless and then at home came nothing less than more art, only at home Mikalie could share in the fun and I could be relieved of some of the participation.
She loved school and to write math problems and correct them and then do more.
She loved to eat alcohol swabs, Yuck!… and nothing more really needs to be said. Months of potato salad, apples dipped in peanut butter and chips with cheese were probably top on the list of the all time favorite foods after transplant. Pre-transplant she really was just a condiment eater. We got funny looks when we ordered a side of sour cream when we were out to eat.
Big baths and swimming…She had the perfect bikini belly too! Our last talk was about swimming with the dolphins in Hawaii when she got better. I like to think that is what she dreamed of when she did not wake up again.
Charmed, E. R., Roseanne, A Baby Story and The Cosby Show are just a few on the list of favorite shows that she watched.
This is just a few of the things that she loved and helped make her who she was. There were so many things that she really loved… It was easy to appreciate the things that she loved and those days when we knew that they were eventually going to end.
Markelle loved with all of her heart. She never expected anything in return just that she be able to love. The very last words she spoke was that she loved me... And I know that she did.
2 comments:
Beautiful Heidi... Remember when we used to go out to eat (pre-transplant) and EVERYONE at the table would be talking and laughing.. all the while silently passing the "white" pieces of lettuce from our salad down the table to Markelle's plate.. It's still hard for me to eat a totally white piece of lettuce without missing her so much it hurts..
I remember finding alcohol swabs in various places in Markelle's room where she would hide them...funny girl. I did a lot of Thursday night shifts at your house, and I remember Markelle needing to watch the new ER episodes, even at age 5! She did have an amazing ability to make people laugh. I still remember the very first time I met her. I was her nurse on med/surg, and I was so intimidated by the complex medical history (I was still new!). I walked into her room, and I was greeted by the cutest little blonde 4 year old with the most adorable cheeks I had ever seen, who just happened right then to drop her crayons on the floor. She immediately said "Shit!" and then she looked up at me and smiled. I was hooked from day one! I'm so thankful that I got to be a small part in her life...she was a huge part of mine. Thanks for sharing this Heidi.
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