Thankful Sunday--May 24, 2015

I am thankful for the beautiful life of Allison.

I first met Allison, when she was a young teen, on a trip with Ward to meet his family. She seemed quiet at times around her three older, boisterous brothers, but could definitely hold her own. In fact, later she would say that some of the wrestling moves she learned from them came in handy more than one time during a date.

She was accomplished in many ways. She had a degree in both English and Physics which lead to her career as a technical writer and prolific author. However, her greatest accomplishment was the life she created with her husband and son. They were a close family who enjoyed many things together including Morris Dancing and the science fiction world. From those activities, they made a large circle of friends. This circle was never more evident than during the last two years of her life and her battle with cancer.

When Allison was first diagnosed, friends rallied around with a can do attitude  They were going to help her beat the impossible statistics and outsmart this illness. But after a while, it was evident that that was not going to happen. And when things got difficult and depressing, they were still around.

That's one of the things that I found amazing about the whole situation. Instead of avoiding her, they flocked to Allison. That's because Allison, with the incredible support of her husband, continued to celebrate life every day and encouraged all of those around her to do the same thing. Even when her body was betraying her, she kept going. There were dances and concerts and laser shows and block parties and museums and movies and snow angels and nature walks and festivals and parties and pig roasts and church and the list goes on and on of what she and friends and family did together to celebrate life every day. People were still around because they wanted to be a part of this positive energy.

During her illness, Allison developed a new word, ETHOOL which means, Enjoy The Heck Our Of Life. Buttons and banners were made and it is now a part of many people's every day language including mine. Allison wrote most of the notice that was going to be posted upon her passing. Unfortunately, Friday it was time to share that post. She told her husband she wanted to make them smile and she did.  Here is its final line:

 She is at peace and beginning to ETHOOTAL!  (Enjoying The Heck Out Of The After Life.)