It has been two years since Cheryl left us and became free from a life ravaged by Huntington's Disease. She went on to heaven where she got to dance and sing with Elvis every day. I know she is having the time of her life - free from the awful affects of the disease and from the pain and suffering she had to face throughout her years. We miss her greatly still but know that she is much happier. Especially since she was joined by her mother earlier this year. The two of them are probably fighting over the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns or the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians. Cheryl was a diehard Cowboys and Rangers fan - which she passed on to her kids and Margaret loved any team from the Cleveland area. There was always a lot of trash talk anytime the teams were playing. It was fun to watch and I am sure that hasn't changed a bit.
At her funeral, the pastor said something that still sticks me two years later - It's not about what the number of years that you were given but what you did with the years that you were given. In the case of Cheryl, she may not have been given as many years as some others, but she still managed to do a lot with the short amount of time that she was given on this earth. As a result, many people have been touched and are better as result of the life that Cheryl led. She loved with all of her heart and passed that love on to anybody she came in to contact with. Not many people could walk away from her without feeling the love she had for life and those around her.
While I did not have the oppourtunity to spend a lot of time with Cheryl as the disease had already began to rob her body when I first met her. Still, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to have known her even for a little while. The life that she led still lives on in the lives of each on of her children. They are a living testament to the life that she led and passed on to others. She continues to live on in the life of others - living proof that she did a lot with the years that she was given on this earth.
While each one of still misses her, we know she is better off because she is not longer struggling with the effects that HD has had on her body. She is better off today and we can take comfort in that fact even though we still miss her smiling face in our lives.
Cheryl, we love you and will continue to show the love you showed us to the world around us.
