Rest In Peace

[Natasha]

Good Morning Everyone,

I thought you would all like to know that Rick's, and mine for that matter, Tombstone is now marking his resting place. I've had both our names engraved as that's where I'll be someday, but hopefully not for quite a while. It was quite sad to see it there as reality hit hard when I saw the stone. It was a reminder that all of this is permanent and definitely real - he's not coming back. It's going to break my heart when his sister, father, and step mother visit him. His father never should have had to bury his son and his sister never, ever should have had to bury her big brother at such a young age. He adored her beyond belief. It's heart breaking.


I can't go visit him with anybody yet although I've brought his dog, Schroeder to visit him. I'm sure that he's shared stories with you all about Schroeder, his demon Dachshund dog. It was rather nice to bring his little dog because even though I didn't tell Schroeder that we were going to see "Papa" it was like he knew. I carried him over to "Rick's Place" and Schroeder started to yelp excitedly and shake and quiver all over just like he would when Rick would come home from work. That's when I told him that we were visiting "Papa." He then became even more excited. By the way, if Rick knew, and I'm sure he does now, that I told you all that he was "Papa" to the dog he'd kill me. :) They were very devoted to each other.

Anyway, I thought that you'd all like to know that his final resting place is now marked with a loving monument. Sunday would have been his 43 birthday. I didn't want to bring him flowers cuz that would have made me cry. I wanted to bring him something fun that would have made him laugh. So, I brought him 3 balloons - a firefly, a bumblebee and a sunshine with a smiley face. He'd appreciate that just for the silliness of it.

RavenReverand, in answer to your question - definitely chocolate. Chocolate Cheesecake or Chocolate Pecan Upside Down Cake. The latter of the two is what I made for his birthday last year. He loved it.


.......Natasha

[RavenReverend]

Thanks for the update Natasha : )
And that sounds much better than awful store bought birthday cake XD

[Rand_Shea]

I still miss him. The game hasn't been nearly as fun without him logging on and giving commentary to the off the wall conversations that used to happen in ravenOOC all the time. Not to minimize his existence in any way by bringing the game up, but it was the only way I knew him, though I imagine it'd've been awesome to have known him on a face to face level.

I hope you and the kids are doing well, and best wishes to the rest of the family too.

[Yichimet]

I was going to wish him a happy birthday on Sunday, but I didn't know how to do it. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Give him a big "hello" from all of us next time you visit his resting place.

[Natasha]

Thanks to you all. I will certainly tell him "Hello" from all of you.

There is one thing I never shared with you all and it has taken me some time to do so. I would like to share it with you now if it's ok. One evening my neighbor Lisa was over to check on Rick. She's also a nurse and helped out considerably with Rick's care. I don't know what I would have done without her. She was truly amazing and a great source of strength for me. She told me that she was surprised at the strength with which Rick was holding on. I asked her why he was hanging on the way he was. I didn't want him to go but I also didn't want to see the love of my life suffer. Lisa explained that sometimes people will hang on due to some unfinished business, whether it be to resolve a dispute with someone, or they need to say good bye to a friend or family member. It was then that it hit me. As Rick's family we all privately said what we needed to say to him, as he did to us. However, you guys on the TNG never were able to do that, nor did he get the chance to do it. That is when I sent Kim, or should I say Evanthe, a text telling her that he was being so brave, but he was going. I didn't know what to say to someone I'd never spoken to so I just said that. I then went upstairs to our bedroom to tell him that I got in touch with you guys to tell you all how amazing he was being. He squeezed my hand. I guess that was his "Good-Bye" to you all. For some reason it struck me that night that I should do that. He spent a considerable amount of time getting to know you all so I thought that I should do that one thing for him cuz it's what he would have like me to do. I'm glad that I did cuz when Evanthe received the text message I then received the nicest phone call from her and her boyfriend offering their condolences on Rick's passing. It was a nice gesture on their part and it meant a lot to me to hear such kind words about my husband.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. I hope that you don't mind.

[Vilmah]

Thanks for sharing his last few moments with us. I know that all of those who knew him appreciate what a great guy he was, and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.

I'll bet he's still laughing at the bumblebee right now. :)

[opalexian]

That made me cry all over again. You're so wonderful, Natasha. Thanks for thinking of us even as you deal with so much. I hope you and the family are doing ok. 'Papa' was very appropriate for him-there are many people here who saw him as a father figure too. Hug the puppy for us.

[Malorii]

This was very touching for me.

I hope you guys are doing well and glad to see he has a stone.


I've always had a fasination with tombstones, they always say to me

" This was me, and this is my badge to prove I was here, I lived, I existed and someone loved me."

Then I start to think about all the people in the world who have gone before us, and the marks that they have left and how they still effect us. Even if we're taking a short cut to get home and glance at ivy growing over stone.

I'm so glad to have been able to see a bit of what Skaflocs family was like. He'd talk about you every once in awhile in a good way.

[Villayna]

Natasha,

He is still very much missed here. He had a magical ability to be everyone's friend, never said anything unkind about anyone, and he just made everyone's lives a little bit brighter.

Please do not apologise for ever posting here. You could post something about him every day and I think people would love it and it'd be almost like he was with us again.

[Natasha]

Thanks Villayna. I wish every moment of every day that he was still with us. I miss him like crazy.

Malorii, I like what you said about tombstones. It's very true. You'd like ours. It's black granite. On either side there are two doves. Between the dove is our family name, below that is a heart surrounded by flowers. Within the heart are two hands, a man and a woman's, entwined. On one side is Rick's name birthday and date of his passing. On the other side is my name and my birthdate. Below there's an inscription reading "Living Forever in Our Hearts." I'm crying now so I'd better sign off. A good day to you all.

[Xaraphyne]

I still think about him all the time and miss him too. The tombstone sounds beautiful. Thank you Natasha.

[Moknim]

He is still very much missed here. He had a magical ability to be everyone's friend, never said anything unkind about anyone, and he just made everyone's lives a little bit brighter.

Please do not apologise for ever posting here. You could post something about him every day and I think people would love it and it'd be almost like he was with us again.

Vill put it better than I could.

He is still missed and still loved.

Any time you need to say something about Rick, share your tears, share your memories - please feel free to do so here. In a lot of ways we are anonymous, in a lot of ways we share your feelings. Know that we are here for you and we loved the man that you loved. We all know what an amazing man he was.

[opalexian]

I really wish you could give real hugs through the internet right now. You'd get a million hugs, Natasha.

[Evanthe]

Thank you for giving us an update, especially sharing the story of Schroeder. Rick used to tell me all kinds of stories about him. I'm not surprised he was the dog's 'Papa'. :)

He was a wonderful friend to so many of us. I miss him every day.