Trip of a Lifetime

First of all, if you haven't read my mom's story just click here to get caught up!

I had started my own version of the story but when I ask mom if she had anything she wanted to say, she said a lot of what I was going to....only much better. Thanks, Mom!

I will start my story and touch briefly on some of the same things she did but from my view point and then add in some other things I want to remember.

I will never forget the day that she called home from going to visit Uncle Craig and Craig Jr in San Angelo. We were all at my Uncle Ike and Aunt Beth's house when Mom called Dad. He then passed off the phone to my sister, who then passed it off to my other sister, who finally passed it off to me. At this point, I can remember being confused on why everyone kept leaving the room and coming back looking a little more quiet than they had left.  She said that after learning that Craig Jr didn't have much hope if he didn't receive a new kidney, she felt as though she needed to offer to see if she was a match. She wasn't even sure if she would be but she felt she needed to try. She asked if we were ok with that and if it ever were to come down to it and something happen to her reamining kidney--one of us girls would be her best match. We were all on board 110%. I remember having the thought of "Holy smokes, is she really going to offer a kidney to a cousin she barely knows?!" But she did and from then on, God's hand unfolded one of the most beautiful stories I have ever been a part of.

For a year, she passed all sorts of tests that she didn't have the greatest odds of passing. The transplant was finally scheduled for June of 2010. In the midst of all of this, the love of my life asked me to be his wife, so we began planning a wedding for the Fall. To say that my mom is amazing is somewhat of an understatement. If you have ever planned a wedding, you know how stressful it can be.....then to throw in donating a kidney on top of it....She is a champ! We got most of the planning done between March and June so that we wouldn't have as much to do after the surgery.

School ends for me and a few days later, Mom, Dad, Me-Me, Uncle Craig, Whitney and I all head off to Virginia for a month. To try and find the words to describe the month in Virginia is next to impossible. We got to see things that I never would have had the chance to see....Colonial Williamsburg, Ash Lawn, Monticello, Staunton, VA, an Episcopal Church with Tiffany windows, Shenandoah River, Front Royal, Charleston, Washington DC, an Inn built in the 1700 where there was a telegraph from the Rockafellar's requesting a room, Oldtown Winchester---It was incredible! There is so much history up there it is unreal. And the scenery was breathtaking.

And that doesn't even touch the whole kidney transplant event we went up there for :) Yes, we got to see and do more than I can ever imagine but the one thing I am most thankful for was the relationship that we got to develop with Craig Jr and how much closer we became with Uncle Craig. When we first met Craig Jr (I say met because even though I'm sure I had actually met him at some point in my life, this is the first time I remember), my first thought was how quiet and reserved he seemed. He was pretty soft-spoken and very intelligent. He taught English at a military academy called Randolph-Macon in Front Royal, Virginia. We got the chance to visit this BEAUTIFUL school and to learn so much about Craig Jr. He was a favorite among the students and staff. He made learning English fun--and in all honesty, I had amazing English teachers in High School, but I would have LOVED to take one of his classes. When he retired after 29 of teaching there, they printed an article about him that I want to share bits and pieces.

-"Craig Porter was one of those people who is a blessing to both students and parents alike. My three children each had Craig as an instructor and more importantly, an inspiration. Life has a few figures who make a true difference in the lives of people among them. Craig Porter is a "hero" among his peers and a man who does make a difference. My family is forever grateful for his role in our lives. We miss him, we thank him." -a R-M alumni

-"Craig Porter was the consummate teacher at Randolph-Macon Academy, and was highly appreciated by his students. Each student considered it a blessing to be in his class and he was the best in the business in getting them ready for college." -President of R-M, General Hobgood

-"I asked the students what made him so good, and they told me 'He understands us.'"-a fellow teacher.

These three quotes sum him up pretty well. Teaching was his passion. His students were his passion. Words used to describe him were "legend", "hero", "inspiration", and "blessing". I got to see a little glimpse of that man in the month I spent in Virginia and the years that followed. He was no longer just my mom's long lost cousin who lived in Virginia. He became a part of our life and a part of our family. I think my favorite line of what my mom wrote was, "I got to love him because I knew him---not just because he was my cousin.". That is how I felt.

I grew to love this man--the one who had I not been there would never have believed that this quiet, bow-tie wearing, sixty-something year old man LOVED Eminem and Lady Gaga. :) This man who EVERYWHERE we went in Front Royal, people would stop and visit with and sing his praises. I got to know Uncle Craig even better and make more memories with him then I would have ever had the chance to.

Craig Jr will be missed but I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to know him. Because of him, I got to see my mother in a new light. I have always known she was a giver---just the other day, getting ready for the funeral I used her comb to rat my hair and told her I really liked it. Her response was "Oh, you take it." That is just how she is....But this experience brought that out in her even more. She gave a part of her to someone she barely knew--without a moment's hesitation. I got to see my family and my church family come together to support Craig Jr and Mom. It was incredible....truly incredible. So like my mom said--I am so, so sad for his story to end but I'm thankful I got to be a part of it..even if it was just a small chapter.

Last night in Virginia-Uncle Craig, Me, Me-Me, Mom and Craig Jr