Berni

I've known Berni since before I was born. In other words, all my life. She and my mother were friends from their college days. Berni felt like an aunt to me. She passed away Sunday, June 7th, 2009.

I remember one summer I went to stay with her and her family in Kansas and she said we were going to buy strawberries. I told her I hated strawberries. She couldn't believe it. But she reassured me that I would love them the way she made them. We went to the market and brought back a boat load of strawberries. She had me help her clean them and then she did her magic. She put sugar on them. She let them sit in the frig and then put whipped cream on them. She was right, I loved the way she made strawberries. Funny. My mom made them the same way. I just hated the seeds. Berni walked me through the whole ordeal of eating the seeds. I love strawberries. I love Berni more.

I miss her so much. Isn't it funny how we take for granted those who are so close to us and don't realize what we have until it's gone. Now I've been retouching very old photos of Berni and Walt, her husband, and our families together. I found several photos of Berni's mom, Berni, and me as a small child. I was redoing these photos one night late and I heard Berni's voice in my head. She said, "Hay kid, what ya doin?" Then I heard her laughter. Then I heard chatter. Berni loved to talk. I think it was memories from my childhood. When a child is around an adult a lot they sort of tune out what is said but you can still hear the voices. I haven't heard Berni's voice in a long time and it was wonderful to hear her again. I almost feel like she is here with me. I just wish she were.