Candie & Clarissa

Editors Note: This was originally posted on my MySpace blog on March 22, 2007.

22 Mar 2007

Candie & Clarissa

Candie is due home a week from tomorrow (YAY!!!) Having her home again will be wonderful. Thinking about her being at home with us again made me think of what it was like before when she and Clarissa were living at home.

Clarissa moved in with us and became part of our family. She moved into Candie's room which was the first time Candie had to share a room with another person. I remember her moving her bed in and the girls arranging things so that there would be enough room. Over the years there were several changes made to the room, the greatest being when they decided to paint the walls a bright lime green color! I think they painted all night. It looked really cute because they only painted two walls. The decor of the room became Hawaiian. They removed the closet doors and hung a shower curtain with palm trees on it to add to the ambiance.

There were several other adventures over the Candie/Clarissa years: the two girls helping out by cooking dinner when I had back surgery, washing their cars in the front yard, Margarita nights, coming home as I was getting up for work and pretending they'd just gotten up, Bulldog Gym and walking the dogs.

It was Clarissa who brought my sweet Finch into my life. She had a job at a vet's office and she brought home a pit bull puppy who'd been abandoned because he was sick. The vet treated him and intended to turn him into a guard/blood dog. We couldn't stand the thought of that so we kept him. It became a nightly routine for the girls to take Max and Finch for a walk, then load them in one of their cars for a ride to the drive-through Starbucks.

There were also camping trips. The last one we went on as a family was in August 2005. We went to Lake Casitas and they joined us, but had their own camping spot. We spent the majority of the first night waiting for Melissa to arrive but she kept calling because she was lost. After she'd arrived, we all went to bed only to awaken to the news that Candie and Clarissa had left their snacks in a bag in the back of the truck and some raccoons had eaten their food.

Perhaps my best memory is when the two girls and Ray planned a birthday party for me when I turned 50. I was sent to my room for the entire day and they cleaned, decorated and made snacks for the party while Ray cooked. It was probably one of the best birthdays of my life because they put so much of themselves into that celebration. The memory of their love still brings tears to my eyes and I will never forget the happiness they brought me.

I hope Clarissa and Candie will always remember and cherish the time they spent in my house. I know I will.

Please pray for our troops all over the world. God bless everyone, especially Candie and Clarissa.