is me is really me

so much for posting from a new mobile app. apologies, I didn’t realize the post itself never loaded, only the picture I had selected to go along with the post. It wasn’t until I read a couple of the comments that I realized something was wrong because a comment seemed out of context to the content. *I type as I slap my forehead* . Curiosity got the best of me and of course, I accessed my blog via my smartphone only to not see the post I’d endeavored over…

Going into my drafts folder via my laptop, I find the post intended to accompany the picture. *sigh* and so, here is why I was selected the image to accompany the post.

Earlier this past spring, I blogged the passing of my very close friend, Manny which was unexpected and made even more difficult by the circumstances in which Manny died. (the full post can be found HERE)

In the almost six months since his passing/that post, I’ve received numerous private messages asking about Susie and the family but more importantly asking about young Bea, the 16-year old that accidentally hit her uncle Manny on a bright sunny day just a few weeks after she got her license.

I’d love to be able to say that everything is ok and back to normal but that would be a lie. What I can say is that things have been moving forward for everyone involved, with some very small steps forward and many steps back. There is a new normal that seems to have moved into place for Susie and her family as well as for Bea and her own family. The not so good, Bea can’t seem to forgive herself and of course, as expected, driving is not something she is even remotely interested in doing. All families have been going to support groups, therapies and spending low key quality time together. Bea may never drive again, we all respect her wishes and she has a great therapist that she’s been working with. As you could expect with teenagers, especially those of the female persuasion that have raging hormones to contend with as well; Bea and her “cousins”, Manny’s children, struggle to find a way to move forward on some days. Most days are ok, some days are great and yes, some are downright brutal. We are all holding our collective breaths as the holiday season begins out here. Halloween kicks it off, especially for Manny and Scotty’s families. Bea is Scotty’s daughter. The two families only live within  four blocks of one another and Halloween was planned and celebrated between both families a la Modern Family style. All. Out. and then there is U.S. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas etc.

This season is the first without Manny, for all of us, but most especially for Susie and the kids and for Bea. We can only rally around all of them as Manny would expect us to do. Everything will be alright but everything will not stay the same.