Keenan Bly

I cannot believe it has been two years since my little friend left.

Today is the day I journal about a very sacred time in my life. This entry has been rolling around in my mind for years. I think I may finally be ready to do this. Maybe I can just get it started.

I met Keenan when he was a year and a half. We had been invited by his family to a block BBQ they were hosting. I was impressed with this. She didn't know us, but included us and our kids in their birthday parties that she also had earlier in the day. Looking back now, it is just typical Tricia. Wanting to include everyone and always ready to make a new friend.

Tricia does hair. She had someone tending her kids for in her home, but I occasionally served as her "back up" babysitter.

What a blessing for me. It allowed me to be with Lauren and earn a little extra money. Several months went by, and Tricia's babysitter quit. She asked me if I wanted to tend for her permanently. I was THRILLED! I LOVED her kids, they played well with Lauren, and Phillip's employer was heading for bankruptcy and he was looking for a new job. Truly a blessing.

I would tend Keenan, Cameron, and later Tory. ( : We had alot of fun. As time went on, the kids grew and Keenan was about to start kindergarten. What an exciting time!

That October, he just wasn't feeling well. He'd been to the doctor off and on that month. He was home sick, and just laid on the couch all day. This was so unlike him. I talked to Tricia on the phone, and she asked me if I thought she should take him in, and I said, "yes." I knew he was pretty sick. She took him in that night, and he was diagnosed. Liver/lung cancer. He was 6. We were all devastated. The next two years were a wonderful, horrible, and blessed life changing experience.

I don't know how to put into words my experience. I was not his mother, yet I didn't know how to not love him and Cameron and Tory like mine. Thankfully, Tricia NEVER made me feel like I had to have "limits." She absolutely gave me free reign to love him as my own. She actually made me feel like she was grateful for me, when I was so grateful to be a part of their lives. I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude for this. I witnessed many miracles. I witnessed the love of humanity, the comfort brought by the Holy Ghost, the blessings upon skilled medical staff and the unselfish love of my own family. I do not wish to go into details here, perhaps I will document those in my personal journal. I will share a few favorite memories here though.

Keenan was so sweet. He would tell Tricia every morning "bye mom, make people's hair pretty."

Keenan loved to cook! We would often cook together. He would tell me I was a "good cooker," but not as good as his mom." He loved breakfast! We would make eggs, sausage, waffles, or french toast sticks. I would love it when he'd drag the stool over, and stand next to me at the stove. Keenan was given medicinal "pot" and he'd get a wicked case of "the munchies!" Of course I loved that he felt well enough to eat, so I would have cooked anything he wanted all day.

There were those days, when that is what we did! We would get through breakfast, and he would want a snack, and then lunch, and then another snack. We also had fun times making "treats" for his family. We would make cookies, brownies, a cake, or whatever and have so much fun! Cookies were fun to make, as there were more ingredients, so everyone got to have lots of turns dumping stuff in. One day after the flour was getting dumped, the mixer turned on, and flour went EVERYWHERE! After that, the kids would ask if we could do that again. Keenan loved X-Box. He would try and patiently teach me how to play games, but he would kill me so fast, that I didn't have alot of time to practice.

I wanted to blog about Keenan today, and remind myself of my blessings. I was blessed to serve. I am blessed with eternal friendships. I am blessed with a strengthened testimony of the goodness of mankind and eternal families. I want to tell my family I appreciate all the love and patience they have had for me. They sacrificed so that I could serve. They love me in my weakness, and they support me always. To my "Bly babies," I love you forever! To Bill and Tricia, thank you for sharing your family with me! Your unselfishness gave me one of the greatest blessings I have known. To my Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity.

To Keenan, I still think of you always. I think I am just beginning to understand some of the lessons you taught.

"God Be With You 'til We Meet Again."

xoxo

Cyn