A Light for Lou

On August 9th of this year, someone very special to me passed away.  I came to realize that there weren't many people in this area that knew who she was, but for some reason she had chosen to invest in my family's life over the years.  My earliest memories of Lou Reardon are of me and my brother trick-or-treating at her house for Halloween.  At that time, her husband Bob was still alive as well.  Mama and Daddy would drive us a little ways down the dirt road (we were neighbors).  Then we would take the "trail in the woods" that would lead us to their house.  Not only would we be greeted by Bob and Lou, but we were also welcomed by their dogs and cats--some of which we shared custody over.  They had candy ready to give us and then Mama would take a picture of me, Jesse, Bob, and Lou.  I was thinking about this the other day and I honestly don't know if Bob and Lou had any other trick-or-treaters stop by their house.  As far as I know, me and Jesse were the only ones.

As Jesse and I got older, we didn't go trick-or-treating anymore.  BUT, Lou would drive over to our house and deliver a plateful of candy that was covered with colorful Saran Wrap.  You would think that after graduating high school and going off to college that the giving would stop.  This was not the case.  Every year Lou would mail us Halloween cards with a little treat inside.

I was able to visit Lou one more time at the hospital before she passed away.  I almost didn't recognize her, but as soon as she started speaking she was who I remembered.  She started telling me about things that she saw in her life growing up and she asked me about what was new in my own life.  Then she said some things that kind of surprised me at first, but will always be something I remember from our last conversation.  Lou told me that she had a good life and enjoyed watching me and Jesse grow up.  She told me that we were more than neighbors now, we were lifelong friends.

Lou passed away about a week after my visit to see her.  Since there was no memorial service, I've been trying to think of a way to honor her memory.  This Saturday is Halloween. I know a lot of children may not trick-or-treat anymore, but even if there's just one, Nate and I are going to leave our porch light on that night.  The light will be a reminder of someone who cared and went out of her way to share a little joy with a couple of kids next-door.

In Christ, 

Katie