Snooks

by Kay Heitsch

I just came in from shoveling with the little RED shovel. I used the snowblower some. It was kinda windy, 30 mph gusts, and 19 degrees, so the snow blowing in my face didn't feel too good. I stopped and came in to warm up.

As I was warming up, I looked at the calendar. I noticed that this was February 10th. This was the day of Todd's funeral. As most of you know, Todd died in Ohio, but we brought him to Michigan to be buried.

February 10th was a day almost like today. Cold and snowy. I don't remember much about the funeral. I chose "Because He Lives" and "Under His Wings" for songs. Thinking back, it was odd because I didn't consider myself a Christian at the time.

When the service was over, I put Todd's stuffed dog, Snooks, in the casket with him before closing the lid. Good ol' Snooks had one blue ear and one black. We gave Todd this dog the first time we left him here in Michigan with my folks when we went skiing. Todd was a baby. Snooks went everywhere from that day on. So I thought it was the right thing to do to put Snooks in the casket with Todd. It was hard because I kinda wanted to keep Snooks myself.

A friend of Todd's named Andrew Silverstone was a Cross Country runner like Todd. Andrew put a couple Cross Country metals in the casket that he had won, saying, "I have time to win more of these. Todd doesn't." I placed those CC metals in Todd's hands.

We drove to the cemetery. I well remember I had forgotten boots. So I stood out in the snow with dress shoes on. It didn't matter. I was so cold and numb I didn't feel anything.

Many years have passed now. February is still a time of reflection for me. A lot has happened. God is great, and Spring is on its way!