J & J. No, it’s not Johnson & Johnson. Although, I do love their products. Especially, their dental floss. I love their dental floss! No, J & J are my nieces….Jill and Jamie. They are Irish twins. For one week in July they are the same age. I guess, then, it should be…J & J & J. Jill, Jamie and July. Jill…or Jillian is the older of the two. Jill is the sweetest person around. If she has to share her age with Jamie for a few days, I know it is fine with her. The Irish twins also have a younger sister, Megan. Megan will get her own post in February. I’m sure she will prefer this much more.

On Sunday, Jill got her own age back. She turned 23. Jill will be graduating from Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville in May. She will graduate with degrees in Music Education and English Education. Jill plays the violin…and the piano. Although, she readily admits her sister Jamie is the piano player in the family. Jill has been coming over to our house to practice her violin since the pandemic. We love when she comes over to play her violin. My brother Brian and our dog Finley love to go downstairs and listen to her play. It’s been one of their highlights of the quarantine.

Jamie will graduate from Missouri State in May. Hopefully, not on the same day as Jill. Jamie is majoring in Electronic Arts and Video Studies. She is going to be the next Steven Spielberg or Nora Ephron. Her creativity boggles my mind. Jamie has been making videos since she was young. One day we were coming home from the Irish store. Jamie asked if we could stop at their house on the way over to our house. She wanted to get some supplies to make a movie. Within hours, she and her sisters had a movie made. And it was great. It was a parody of Frozen’s, “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” Her’s was, “Do You Want to Hide a Body?” It was an extremely funny and very well produced video. I was flabbergasted by what she was producing at such a young age. Her creativity has only exploded in college. I can’t wait to hear about her senior project. Right now it is hush-hush. As soon as she is allowed to tell us, it will certainly become my favorite Skytress jumpseat topic.

There is a picture of Jill and Jamie when they were little on the shelf in our family room. I took it one day when they went off to dance class. It makes me smile every time I look at it. When my sister said they wanted to take dance I almost fell over. Our family is filled with two-left feet people. I was in awe of them at their recitals. When I was their age, I believe I was still holding on to my Mom’s leg. If I could have held on to my Mom’s leg in first grade when I had to dance the Mexican Hat dance with Mark Callahan, I would have done it. But, Jill and Jamie shine in the spotlight. And I am not just saying that because I am their biased Aunt. I’ve seen how happy they are performing for others throughout their lives. In high school Jamie was on the flag team…. even though she had planned to play the drums in the marching band. In fact, she actually did play the drums in the marching band…. one time. Being a very smart girl, Jamie realized very quickly, flags were a lot easier to carry around the football field than drums. Plus, she loved putting on her performance makeup to dance around the field. Anyone who knows Jamie….knows Jamie is a makeup connoisseur. Jill has always played her violin in both high school and college symphonies. She amazes me how she flutters about talking to her family and friends moments before her performances….then sits down and plays complicated symphonic pieces effortlessly. As a music major, Jill had to learn to play all symphonic instruments. Most college kids come home with laundry at the holiday breaks. Jill came home with so many instruments once, she barely had room in her car to bring her dirty laundry home. Her sisters loved trying to play all the different instruments. Their dog Charlie was not a fan….especially of the horn instruments.

Jill is also a huge reader. Since she was a little girl, Jill has carried a book around with her. I sometimes tease her about this. But, mostly I am impressed. For many years it was the Harry Potter books. She has read them all several times. Jill is the only person I know that can read a book several times…and enjoy it as much as the first time she read it. I know without a doubt, Jill’s students won’t be able to get away with Cliff Notes. She knows books inside and out. I chuckle at the thought of one of her students trying to get away without reading the entire book. Sweetly, Jill still checks books out at the library. She reminds me of Ron in this aspect. He loved going to the library to check out books. He was also an avid reader. Unlike Jill, he was not an avid writer. Once when Jill was in elementary school she had papers scattered about on the floor. My sister was going to clean them up. Jill told my sister not to throw the papers away. She was writing a sequel to one of her favorite books. Never in my life had I ever thought of doing this. I remember thinking then,….this was a brilliant idea. YOU get to decide what happens next to your favorite characters!

The Irish twins also sing in the choir at the Saturday family Mass. Well, at least they did until COVID-19 arrived. This is another trait that stupefies me. I like to sing. I’m horrible at it, though. The thought of singing in front of others terrifies me. I always tell people…. the performers need people to applaud the singers. I am the applauder in life. Well, at Mass I give the approving smile…applauding during Mass would be odd. I am odd…just not that odd. The girls Catholic religion is very important to them. In high school Jamie would read the Liturgy of the Word at Mass. Every once in awhile before Mass, she would check the pronunciation of some of the cities in the scriptures. There are some doozies in there. During Mass, I would hold my breath for her as she came to the difficult word. Each time she spoke with such conviction, that even if she said it wrong, no one would have ever questioned her. Many Saturdays, Jill was behind Jamie on the Alter, as the Alter girl. Jill had no formal training as an Alter girl. Father Benedict needed someone one to fill in one day….Jill agreed to do it. Father helped her through the Mass. Jill was a quick learner. Eventually Jill became Father’s Benedict’s go-to gal. She even mentored the younger kids so Father Benedict would have enough Alter people to serve at Mass when she went off to college.

When I sold my house in Cincinnati and moved back home to help take care of my Dad, I was blessed to be able to help take care of my nieces, too. When my sister had to see patients, the girls would hang out at our house. I cherish the memories of them doing their homework at the dining room table. There was always an abundance of laughter. I delightedly helped teach them fractions through baking. I still covet my recipe book Jill gave me when she was in elementary school. She chose to put the recipe of the Mississippi Mud Cake we make for her birthday in there. We make it every year. This year Jill wanted to make a cookie cake. So we did! Jamie made her own birthday cake this year, as she quarantined at school. She used her cake pans I gave her. She said she worked hard at mixing the batter. Her sister Megan talked her out of bringing my electric mixer with her to school. Little did Megan, or any of us know, the virus would hit and we would all be quarantining and needing to bake comfort food. Jamie, of course, had sparkle candles on her cake. We wouldn’t have expected anything less. Jamie is also a sparkle loving girl.

The Irish twins, including their sister Megan, have filled our lives with sweetness, laughter and so much love. They will humor me by coming to the Farmer’s Market or running to a store with me. We always make an extra stop for something fun along the way. Favorite Aunts do these things. Or so I tell them. The girls gave me extra love when I needed it when my Dad and Ron died. They are the best at mending broken hearts. They gave me the best part of their hearts until mine could function again. The Irish twins are always cheering each other on in life. They unselfishly cheer on everyone they meet in life. It’s their special gift. Not surprisingly, they don’t even know the special power of their friendship and kindness. Individually Jill and Jamie are extraordinary. Together they are a mighty duo of sisterness. J&J are the Irish twins who are changing the world for the better. And I can’t wait until next year when they are the same age once again….Aunts like these quirky things in life. Well, at least this Aunt, who dearly loves her nieces.

Last Monday over 17,000 employees at my airline took either an early retirement package or an opt out package. Many of those employees were Skytresses and Skyters. A few were my dear friends. Who would have known in February when we were the first company in history to break all records for profit sharing, that in a matter of weeks our company would be offering packages to save the airline? In February we were going to hire several thousand more people. In July our company needed thousands to retire so they won’t have to furlough anyone. I read the Facebook posts from fellow employees. I talked and texted with friends as they made this hard decision. I know it has been an emotional, uncertain time for everyone. Seeing one person retire is hard. Seeing fellow co-workers leave en masse is something my heart and head were not prepared for. I know I am not alone feeling this way.

I read many Facebook posts on our retirement decision page from fellow Skytresses and Skyters that I never met. I didn’t need to know their names. They all are part of my airline family. There is a special, unspoken bond between us all. I laughed and I cried as I read each post. I felt their heart ache, anxiety and sadness as they said their goodbyes. I felt their excitement and giddy anticipations for a new journey in life. These feelings were multiplied exponentially for my friends that I do know. I have amazing memories of flying together with my friends. Even greater memories of layovers. Conversations that filled my soul. Laughter that echoes in my head. Even though I could go months, even years, not seeing my friends, I always knew they were out there and it was a pretty good bet our paths would eventually cross. This thought always gave me comfort. Now the reality of their retirement makes me sad because I know I won’t see them in the crew lounge, on a layover or simply passing in the airport….wishing each other a safe flight. But, I am cheering them on as they pursue new adventures. I know they will do amazing things, for they are amazing people.

I also have learned these past few weeks that I need to take more pictures on my flights and layovers. I’ve loved seeing the numerous pictures fellow Skyters and Skytresses have posted on-line. Funny, I used to be great about taking pictures when I carried a regular old camera around. I used to love developing pictures in our darkroom downstairs. Now that I have a camera basically attached to my hands at all times, I rarely take pictures. These past few weeks I have seen incredible career photos from retiring Skytresses and Skyters. Sadly, I have lost many crew and layover pictures on phones that had “issues” and weren’t retrievable. After seeing other pictures that have been shared by my fellow co-workers, I once again wish I had my lost photos. Especially my Alaska pictures. Fortunately, the memories are still very vivid in my mind. I also regret not taking more pictures when Ron and I flew together. We flew together so many times. But, we never took pictures. It was just something we didn’t think about. Silly, I know. We were living in the moment. I’ve done a lot of “living in the moment” throughout my flying career and life. I’m going to try to be better at capturing at least one moment now and then. I promise I won’t post them all when I retire like some of other Skytresses and Skyters have done lately. Although, I admit, I have happily scrolled through 70 plus photos some have posted. So, I may rethink this when my time comes to retire.

I know some of our airline friends have retired because our international flying will be very limited for the next few years due to the pandemic. Our executives have stated we will go back to the number of international flights we had in the early 1990’s. The thought of going back to this type of flying does not appeal to many. Flying internationally never appealed to me. It still doesn’t. I LOVED flying in the 1990’s! I knew my chances of being scheduled to fly across the pond in the 90’s was very minimal. The senior Skytresses and Skyters saw to that. Many airline friends have decided to retire because they have no desire to go back to flying domestic trips. I’m a domestic diva. I love flying to all the wonderful cities in the U.S. When I flew internationally I always was counting the minutes until the plane touched down on American soil. Yes, I still venture out to the islands and to Canada. But, I prefer Charlotte and Chicago. I even had some anxiety when I spent a month flying Alaska trips. I was in the U.S. But, I still had to go through Canada to get home. I knew however, if need be,…I could drive through Canada to get home. This is a prevailing thought of mine since 9-11. I’ve flown with Skytresses and Skyters that have seen countless international cities. But, they have never seen Mount Rushmore, Old Faithful, or the Grand Tetons. I read comments from international Skytresses and Skyters that they didn’t want to fly to Tulsa. Heck, I have wonderful memories of Tulsa. My crew and I won so many prizes at a restaurant one night…it started to get embarrassing. But, the laughter and camaraderie was unforgettable. I know I am a contrarian when it comes to international flying, considering I am in the airline industry. I remember years ago I was looking for property for a vacation home. One of our pilots suggested I should rethink that idea. He said I’d feel obligated to go to my vacation home instead of traveling the world while on vacation. At the time I thought he made a valid point. Then I realized he loved to travel the world. I, on the other hand, love to travel to one place I truly love.

I’ve also learned these past few weeks I need to start thinking more about my retirement and exit plan. Ron had a five year plan. I kidded him I hoped to have a plan in five years. Yes, I’ve been saving and making financial contributions towards my retirement for years. But, I’ve learned I need to decide where I want to plant myself when I retire. I need to consider hobbies and activities that will make me feel joyful and fulfilled. My dear friends that are retiring have given me an abundance of hope for an excellent life away from flying. They have been dear friends throughout my career. I know they will be my dear mentors for my life after flying. Yes, it will be a smaller airline come September 1st when I head back to fly. I will go off to fly and see who among us is still here. I will embrace the challenge to bring our industry back to profitability. Then when I feel in my heart, like so many felt in their hearts these past few weeks,….that it is time…..I will submit my retirement papers. And I know without a doubt, my fellow retired Skytress and Skyter friends will be as happy and excited for me, as I am for them as they soar off to their next life’s adventures.

One morning my crew and I were going through the security check point in Louisville. This was before they had the Known Crew Member security check point. So, we were in the regular security line with the passengers. Our pilots made it through security before us. As is customary for our pilots, they waited for us on the other side of security. My fellow Skytresses and I had a momentary delay getting to security. We were slowed down as we debated whether we should get our Starbucks before or after we went through security. I’m sure you are dying to know how that debate ended. In true Skytress form,….we decided we didn’t really want Starbucks after all. So, we continued on to the security line. There was a family of four ahead of us in the security line. Immediately we could tell they were not frequent fliers. The family of four had enough luggage for twelve. They didn’t have their liquids out of their luggage. And they didn’t know they had to take their shoes off to go through the metal detector. The two children in the family were small. But, they were old enough to walk through the metal detector by themselves. Of course, the youngest child went through first. The metal detector beeped…and the child kept running as the Dad yelled for him to come back. After several attempts the father and two children finally made it through security. As I watched this debacle, I silently hoped this family wouldn’t be on our flight. I stood behind the mother as she finally got her stroller broken down and placed on the security belt. She proceeded to walk through the metal detector. The detector beeped. The TSA agent told the woman to go through again. She did. Again the detector beeped. A third attempt. Beep. The TSA agent then asked the woman if she had a phone on her body that was making the detector go off. The woman stopped and thought for a moment. Then she reached into her shirt and bra. I thought, well that’s a different place to put your phone. But, I guess she always knows where it is. No sooner had I thought this, the woman pulled out a tin of Skoal tobacco! I was NOT expecting this. It was a first for me. It humored me beyond words. The woman proudly held up her tin of tobacco so the TSA agent could see what was making the metal detector go off. The TSA agent did not bat an eye. Obviously, she has seen it all. My crew and I stifled our giggles. I was now fascinated by this woman and her family. I hoped they WERE on our flight. When we finally got through security the pilots were curious about what had taken place. When I told them about the tin of tobacco in the bra, they couldn’t help but laugh. Sadly, as we headed to our gate, the family headed towards another airline. These days when I go through Louisville’s security I think of this woman. Without fail, I always tell my crew about the day the lady pulled a tin of Skoal tobacco from her bra. It was the best!

Years ago when I was a relatively new Skytress I was flying on the Boeing 727. We were on the Boeing 727 with the aft galley on the first officer’s side of the plane. I called it the jinx plane. I was relatively new, but, I had been on this model of the 727 enough to know every time I was on it…..something odd happened. I was bracing myself for the jinx factor. I didn’t have to wait too long for it to kick in. I had finished setting up the aft galley and I was going through the cabin to close bins and make sure luggage was properly stowed. Sure enough….. I got to a row with a passenger holding her baby on her lap. The baby was laying in it’s baby carrier. I stopped. I could tell the passengers sitting beside and behind the woman were anticipating my arrival. They all knew the mother couldn’t hold her baby like this on the flight. However, no one wanted to tell her…..after all, that is what the Skytress is for. I calmly explained to the mother we had a full flight. I told her we didn’t have an open seat for her to strap the baby carrier next to her in a seat. Thus, for the safety of the baby, she would have to take her baby out of the carrier and hold the baby for the duration of the flight. I told her I would put the carrier in the overhead bin for her. To which the mother said, “You want me to put my baby in the overhead bin?” Her response caught me off guard. I looked at the passengers sitting in the row behind the woman so I wouldn’t start to giggle. However, the three passengers in the row were already laughing. They gave me a sympathetic look. The passengers sitting on the side of the woman gave the “Oh my goodness” look. I repeated to the mother that she would hold the baby and I would only put the carrier in the overhead bin. Her response was, “You want to put my baby in the overhead bin?” The man siting next to her looked out the window. The woman next to her looked awkwardly at her magazine. I looked at the row behind the mother. They were no longer laughing. They all had a look of disbelief. And a look of ” you sure are in a pickle now young lady”. I didn’t know how I could make this more simple for the mother to understand. The darn jinx plane was winning. With all eyes upon me, I had a moment of clarity. I asked the mother to take her baby out of the carrier. When she finally pulled the baby out of the carrier, I gently removed the carrier from the mother’s lap. I placed it in the overhead bin. The passengers sitting beside the mother and behind the mother had a collective sigh of relief. I was also relieved. I walked away happy and satisfied. I was satisfied with the way I solved the baby carrier issue. More importantly, I was happy because this was the only flight we had on the jinx plane for the rest of our trip.

I thought my baby carrier story was going to be hard to beat. But, I was completely wrong. A pilot friend of mine told me a story that definitely one upped mine. He told me it happened at his previous airline. Chris explained he was on his flight going home. He had booked the pilot jumpseat. However, the agent told him there was a row in the back of the plane that he could sit in instead. Chris said he sat down in the row and watched the other passengers board the plane. He said he watched one couple come on the plane carrying a baby. Astonishingly, the couple put their baby in the overhead bin and closed the bin. Chris couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. So much so, that he questioned if he had really observed the couple put their baby in the overhead bin. He could see the couple sitting in their row. They didn’t have the baby with them. Unfortunately, many more passengers were boarding and walking down the aisle. Chris decided the best thing to do was to ring his Skytress call button. He said an older crotchety Skytress came from the back of the plane to his row. He described the couple to the Skytress and told her the couple had put their baby in the overhead bin. The Skytress was annoyed with Chris. She told him she didn’t have time for his shenanigans and she walked away. Chris was in a quandary. He now was almost positive the baby was in the overhead bin and he knew the Skytress didn’t believe him. He ultimately decided he needed to ring his call button again. So he did. The cantankerous Skytress came back to his row. Before he could say anything the Skytress spoke. She told him she knew he was a jumpseating pilot. But, if he didn’t stop bothering her, she would have him removed from her flight. Chris told the Skytress he knew there was a baby in the overhead bin. He implored her to go check the bin. The Skytress stared him down for a minute. Then she turned on her heels and headed up the aisle. Chris had a momentary feeling he was wrong about the baby. He watched the Skytress stop at the row with the couple. She looked down at them and then opened up the overhead bin. She immediately spun her head and glared at the couple. Although Chris was sitting rows away, he could hear her scream at the couple. “Whatever would posses you to put your baby in the overhead bin?” She took the baby out of the bin and handed it to the couple. She walked back to Chris and said, “Can you believe that couple put that poor baby in the overhead bin?” Chris said he knew better than to answer her. But, he thought no,….he couldn’t believe it. But,….he sure was grateful he saw it. Me, too, His story definitely trumped my baby bin story.

Sweet Muscles. That is what I called my sweet Ron. Ron was six foot- three and had incredible muscles. Many times when I would see him, I would smile and say “Hubba-Hubba”. It always embarrassed him. Once another Skytress looked at Ron when she was throwing her trash away. She told him he was a VERY handsome man. Ron immediately got embarrassed. He thought she was part of my crew and I had asked her to say this to him. When I told him I had never met her before he didn’t know what to say. I smiled at him and told him I wasn’t the only one who thinks he is Hubba-Hubba. In true Ron fashion he said, “You’re funny.”

I met Ron in 2012. Both of us could never remember when in 2012. But, we always remembered the day. I was jumpseating to Atlanta. Ron was working my flight. I’ve met a lot of people in my life. Never have I felt God tap me on my shoulder and tell me…”pay attention to this person.” But, I distinctly felt God do this. So I paid attention every day. It wasn’t hard. Ron was an amazing human being. I remember very clearly the first day we met Ron came to talk to me after the crew was done with their service. Smack-dab in the middle of our conversation Ron said I had the most beautiful smile. It caught me completely off guard. It actually made me smile more. This was the first of many times he would say this to me. It always made my heart flutter. For some reason he was enamored with my smile. One day I went into the bathroom and I noticed Ron started buying my tooth paste brand. He never said anything to me about it. So, I never said anything to him. But, I found it endearing.

I also found it endearing that Ron believed we had met at the beach when we were younger. Ron grew up in Florida. He loved surfing so he spent a lot of time at the beach. My family would spend the summers in Ponce Inlet. The first time Ron told me he thought we met when we were younger I laughed. I told him I would have remembered meeting a cute surfer. So he clarified that we hadn’t talked. Every once in awhile Ron would be sitting quietly. I could tell he was in deep contemplation. He would eventually turn to me and say he KNEW he had met me on the beach. After awhile I didn’t laugh. I could tell he was remembering something. I eventually would say to him each time he said this….”I believe your memory is better than mine.”

Ron was also a drummer. He played in numerous band throughout the years. His favorite time to play the drums was in the morning. He would quip that unfortunately there wasn’t much need for a drummer in the morning. Their loss was my gain. He would play his drums all the time for me. I was mesmerized when he would play. Ron always encouraged me to play his drums. He had two drum sets. One day I asked him to teach me to play a rimshot. After he taught me he wanted to teach me more stuff. I told him I just wanted to learn the rimshot. He told me I was funny. Then he taught me more. He said I was a natural drummer. Unfortunately, I was a natural that had a bad memory. Each time I would sit down to play, I would ask him again to show me how to play the rimshot. Insert your own rimshot here! Ba-dom-tshhh.

Music filled Ron’s life. A good lyric wowed him every time. He also had a calculated system of listening to a song several times. Each time he would concentrate on a different instrument. He loved how the individual pieces eventually became one. Since Ron was a music aficionado, we always had music playing at the house. Many times Ron would play the Beatles channel on SiriusXM just to prove a point to me. I told him once I wasn’t a fan of the Beatles. Inconspicuously, he would put the station on and catch me singing the songs all the time. He would say to me….”You realize this is a Beatles song you are singing?” My response was always the same….”I like this one. It’s a good song.” He would smile and shake his head and tell me I was funny.

One song Ron wasn’t a fan of was MacArthu Park. It’s the song with the lyrics..”Someone left the cake out in the rain. I don’t think I can take it. Cause it took so long to bake it”. Apparently, this song was playing when Ron was at the hospital when he was younger. Ron loved to tell me he equated the song with his lifelong dislike of elevators. Ron avoided any elevator he could. He never took the crew lounge elevator. He always took the stairs with his luggage in tow. He would get rooms on a lower floor at hotels so he could take the stairs. One time we were in Columbia. We went up to the rooftop where they had a sitting area. It was beautiful. We decided to leave when storms and lightning started to move in closer. The elevator down was small and rickety. Ron was not a fan. He said it might be safer sitting with the storms and lightning than going down in the elevator. The trip down was quite memorable. Ron held his breath praying the elevator didn’t get stuck. I held my breath and prayed for Ron that the elevator didn’t get stuck.

Another trip we hoped would be memorable was a trip we were planning to Banff, Alberta, Canada. Banff was on my bucket list. When I told Ron about Banff and showed him pictures, he definitely wanted to go together. One day I told him about some fishing excursions outside of Banff. Ron loved to fish. I wanted him to be able to have a day where he could go fishing. Unselfishly, he said this was my dream trip. He reiterated he was coming along to be with me and enjoy our time together. He knew I was not a fisherman. Secretly, I still planned for him to go fishing. My plan was to watch him fish and enjoy. After all, it was my dream trip. We had our plans set to go one year. Then my Mom ended up having surgery. The next year we had planned to go and his Mom’s health declined. Sadly, we never had another opportunity to go to Banff.

Even though Ron loved the beach and water, he also loved the mountains. Both were things we had in common. I love the beach….and the mountains. I’m originally from Montana. Every once in a while I would look at property out West. Somewhere along the way Ron decided my plan of a home out West would become our plan. I remember one night we were talking about Montana. I told him I was going to start designing our home on a cocktail napkin. I reminded him many great ideas have come about in the world because someone wrote it….or designed it…on a cocktail napkin. I said if I started to design our place on a cocktail napkin it surely come to fruition. Ron said this made him laugh and a wee bit scared. He knew it would happen…and we would eventually have a home out West. One day Ron was curious why I was on-line looking at the hospitals in Montana. I jested since we were designing a place that we could live in until our old age, maybe it would be good if we were close to one of the better hospitals in Montana. Ron chimed in that he didn’t want to be too close to our neighbors, but, he wanted them in eyesight…..just in case we had to run for help. We both laughed when he said this. I stopped designing the house after Ron died. Months later I decided to finish the plans. One day I hope to build it.

Oh there are so many things I could write about Ron. I know I’ll weave stories into my blog in future posts. It would be hard not too. Time wove our lives together in many ways. I catch myself thinking daily about Ron. There were so many things that made him distinctly my Sweet Muscles. Whether it was how he would sweetly hug me so he could slide to the side closest to the road to “protect me”….because he was taught men are supposed to this when he was younger. Or how he loved to use the words “discombobulated” and “recombobulated”. And how if you said.”Well” very softly he would say…”That’s a deep subject.” I caught him one day saying this and he smiled. He had been saying it forever and was waiting for me to catch on. He told me there was another word I would say and he would say something quietly. He was waiting for me to figure it out. I pleaded for him to tell me. He said I was a smart girl and I would eventually catch it. I told him if he loved me he would tell me. He told me because he loved me he wouldn’t. He wanted me to have the satisfaction of figuring it out. I never did. Hopefully when I see him in Heaven he will tell me. However, I’m sure he won’t. He’ll say, “You’re funny”. Then he will probably say something to the effect that I now have eternity to figure it out. Yes, that is exactly what my Sweet Muscles will do. Of course, I’ll smile. And once again he will tell me I have a beautiful smile…. and my Heavenly heart will flutter.