Is that it?

My first impression of Jean was when she came to pick up the food pantry collection we held at the credit union my first year. I vividly remember her questioning, “is that it,” after seeing the one measly box of our, admittedly, poor attempt at a food drive.

Our relationship grew throughout the years while our paths continued to cross through one organization or another.

I admired how she wove kindness and a pinch of sass into everything she did. I loved that she asked about my brother every single time I saw her. I marveled at how she had Tom wrapped around her finger, and always encouraged me to pick on him just a little bit more. And I will never forget the night at the VFW when I learned of our mutual love of Fireball.

Sweet girl, it’s been a hard week knowing you’re gone. Today I wore the only yellow shirt I own and went to the campground you loved to celebrate you with what seemed like the entire town. What an impression you’ve made on us all.

We ate too much, drank some Fireball for you, road through the trails, shed some tears, and laughed loudly. Your grandsons ran around, road bikes, and got muddy with a bunch of kids. I went easy on your husband just this once. And the sun set over the lake in the most picturesque kind of way.

It was a beautiful day. The sacred kind of day you want to hold on to every second of as summer slips into fall. I could imagine you being there. Weaving your way around, making sure everyone got enough to eat, had a full drink, and was having a good time being together; just zipping around making sure everything was taken care of.

Don’t worry Jean, it was, and we did.

My second year at the credit union we were a bit more strategic about our food drive. When I called Jean for the pick up I told her I thought she’d be more impressed with us than the last year. I stacked over 300 pounds of food on a cart, ready to roll out to her car. She came inside to greet me and as she did, she shook her head, winked at me, and smiled as she said, “is that it?”