Faith Miller Cole

I had intended on posting this morning about the wonderful weekend I had baking all the food for Christmas presents. I had intended on telling everyone how much fun it is to make food for others and how much I truly appreciate my friend Michelle for helping all weekend long even though she didn't have to. She's just cool like that... very giving friend that doesn't ask much in return. I had intended on telling everyone how much I love my wife for being the only person in the world that can make a bowl of cereal and still manage to get flour all over the house and probably even on the roof. She is a trooper and busted her butt all weekend to get the cooking done. These were my original intentions this morning.

Now I intend on telling you why today is a sad day for me. While I was a freshman in high school, I met these two wonderful Jewish twin sisters and have been friends with them since the first conversation. Catherine and Aaron (yes, she spells it like a boy) brought me into their world of friendship and included me as part of their family as a brother. As part of the family, I met Faith Miller Cole (a.k.a. "Momma Cole"). The sad news... Momma Cole passed away last night.

Momma Cole was once the Director of Communications for Kentucky Utilities and was full of great ideas that she was often awarded for. This was until she was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a horrible disease of the colon. She was put on many different medications, which over the course of the last 10 years have reacted with each other causing the need for more medications to be mixed in. She eventually was basically bedridden and fell into a deep depression. One disease or illness began leading to another.

This death is a tough pill for me to swallow as I spent a considerable amount of time with the Cole family and watched as they had to deal with the pain of watching their mother battle through life so much. Catherine, Aaron, my sister Heather, and I all identified with each other so well during those first few years because my mother was battling cancer at the same time. The difference today is that my mother is alive and well (praise the Lord) and we are left here mourning the loss of Momma Cole. We all knew this day would come for many years, but it's never easy to accept when it finally happens.

This will be a new corner to turn for all of the Cole family. Catherine and Aaron have spent so long worrying for their mother and taking family trips rushing to the Mayo Clinic at least once every few months for some kind of emergency. John, the husband and caregiver, can now start the process of moving on past the day he's known would eventually come (I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is for him).

So I guess this blog today is my way of releasing my emotion out into the world. I'm waiting to hear about the visitation and funeral, which will be extremely difficult to handle as I will hug and cry with my friends and old family.

Please pray for the Cole family as they deal with this and that I can comfort them in some way this week. Thanks for listening, friends.