It seems that I have sort of been neglecting my blog a bit. I honestly think that fall is more hectic for us than the summer was!!!! So, what's been going on with us. Well for starters, Keith passed his CDL exam and there was no issue with his eyesight but we did get him some glasses and he needed a stronger contact lens for his left eye.
Last Thursday, I got a phone call from Dad saying that his oldest brother, Dan, was in the hospital and wasn't expected to make it. He had not been in the hospital prior to that day so I was shocked. I asked my Dad if he wanted me to go to the hospital and he said no that just the siblings were going. After thinking long and hard, I decided to drive up there (its about an hour from me) mainly to support my Dad because he was crying on the phone which completely broke my heart. My Dad and I butt heads ALOT but that's my Daddy and I would die for him without thinking twice about it. So, I get up to the hospital and when Uncle Dan's wife, Faye, asked if I wanted to go see Uncle Dan, I told her no that I couldn't. I have had a phobia of hospitals since I was 11. My grandpa died of Leukemia and was in and out of hospitals and I just don't like them, especially when the patients are terminal. After thinking about it, I decided to go back and see Uncle Dan and be there to see him and to support my Dad. Let me tell you, that was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long, long time. Meanwhile, my Dad didn't know I was up there or even going. When Faye and I rounded the corner in ICU, I saw my Dad and I just broke down. He and I walked back to the room and it tore my heart out seeing my Uncle in that bed. Dad said they had sedated him with pain medicine but Dad told him I had came up to see him and I rubbed his arm and told him I loved him. Even though that was soooooo hard for me to do, I am so grateful for being able to say that. 
Uncle Dan died about 10 minutes after I left the hospital. I don't think I could have dealt with that if I had been there. 
Uncle Dan was a PROUD retired Marine. He fought in Vietnam and he bled red, white and blue. He always liked to send a bazillion emails that most of the time I deleted without even reading them because he would "cc" you on every email conversation he had with someone. Uncle Dan was the oldest of the 10 children my Grandma had and he was often the "leader" of the family. If you all know me and my family, the Kines' are an extremely close family and the pride that runs in our hearts and souls is something indescribable. We would give you the shirt off our backs if you needed one but if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. I kid you not, everyone in my town knows "the Kines clan" probably because there are just so many of us. So when Uncle Dan died, it was hard. Now that I am a mom myself, it absolutely BROKE my heart for my Grandma (who will be 90 in December) because this is the 2nd son she has lost. Your children arent supposed to pass away before you.
The funeral service was absolutely AMAZING. He had a full military funeral and the sight of the Marines dressed in their dress attire took my breath away. When the Marines stood by the casket before carrying it out of the chapel, they all saluted my Uncle. Talk about instant chills and tears. I am so proud of my Uncle for everything he did and am such a proud American.
The day Uncle Dan passed, I was rummaging through my emails because I had hoped my "deleted" file hadn't emptied because I wanted to read some emails Uncle Dan had sent earlier in the week. I saved about 11 of them and I just broke down reading some of them because the last one he sent was 2 days before he died. TWO DAYS! It was an email talking about plans for our upcoming Annual Kines Family Reunion we have every year in October. The reunion is always held around my Grandpa's bday and in that email Uncle Dan had talked about how he couldn't wait for the day he met his Dad again. Wow. Two days later, he saw both of his Fathers, Jesus Christ and his own dad.
Semper Fi, Uncle Dan, Semper Fi. I will never forget all our talks at the family reunions or you telling me how proud of me you were for being such a good Mom.
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