My sweet, sweet sister in law, Hannah Rose Orton, died unexpectedly Wednesday night. My wife, Sarah, is in hysterics, having basically raised her. I've personally known her since she was 3 years old. I've watched her grow into a beautiful young woman, and it truly feels like I've lost a daughter.
My fondest memory of Hannah is also my first. I'd gone over to Sarah's for the first time in my attempts to win her affection. She was a Star Wars geek and Episode I had come out that May, so I'd brought her the new hooded Darth Maul figure to woo her with. Hannah was very shy, but not above following me, just to see what I was about. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and saw her peering down at me from the top, not sure what to make of me. To break the ice I looked her dead in the eye and, doing my uncanny Jar Jar Binks impression, blurted out
"Oy, Mooey mooey I love yous!"
The look on her face went from puzzlement to sheer joy as she smiled ear to ear and laughed "Do it Again!"
I must have said that stupid line 10 times, with each one she butt bounced down another stair while repeating "do it again!" until she was right next to me. When she motioned for me to pick her up her hooks latched right on to my heart and they held on for the past 12 years.
I knew then she was something special. A one in a million child that touched the lives of all who knew her.
I feel lucky for having known her, and horrified that I'll never see her again.
My fondest memory of Hannah is also my first. I'd gone over to Sarah's for the first time in my attempts to win her affection. She was a Star Wars geek and Episode I had come out that May, so I'd brought her the new hooded Darth Maul figure to woo her with. Hannah was very shy, but not above following me, just to see what I was about. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and saw her peering down at me from the top, not sure what to make of me. To break the ice I looked her dead in the eye and, doing my uncanny Jar Jar Binks impression, blurted out
"Oy, Mooey mooey I love yous!"
The look on her face went from puzzlement to sheer joy as she smiled ear to ear and laughed "Do it Again!"
I must have said that stupid line 10 times, with each one she butt bounced down another stair while repeating "do it again!" until she was right next to me. When she motioned for me to pick her up her hooks latched right on to my heart and they held on for the past 12 years.
I knew then she was something special. A one in a million child that touched the lives of all who knew her.
I feel lucky for having known her, and horrified that I'll never see her again.
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Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.
Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.
Carl Sandburg