Hielke

Things have been kind of tough for me lately. "Tough" in the sense that I'm trying to work through a few different things and adjust to so many changes in my life in such a short period of time. How does one do this and feel normal? Is it possible to feel normal? I admit, I still miss home and my family and friends.

My Uncle Hielke passed away last Sunday from leukemia. I had not seen him since last year in the summer. He was too sick to come to my wedding reception in December. I had a feeling then that I may not ever see him again. I called my Oma today and she said that she is doing well. She has friends over who are looking after her and staying with her, she has so much support and for this I am grateful. She told me that Hielke passed away peacefully. This is also something that I am grateful for.

Hielke was my godfather, but he was more than that and more than an uncle. He had a kind and generous heart and though he could be as tough and stubborn as an ox at times, he was always soft and kind with me and Elena and Eman and my mom. I think that he had an extra soft spot for my mom because of her sensitive nature and I think that he has an extra soft spot for the three of us kids because of what happened with my Dad etc. In a lot of ways, Hielke was like a Dad to me. He came out to Lethbridge when my parents divorced and helped my mom get packed up and drove us out to BC in our car. WE stayed with him and June before we had a place to live in Lantzville. He and June had us over for pancakes every Sunday after church when we were little. Simon and Rachelle (my cousins) were like another brother and sister to us because we played together all of the time when they still lived in Lantzville. He used to let Simon and I come with him to take his dog Tasha for a walk. And when they moved to Saskatchewan and they came out in the summer to visit Hielke always spent time with me and we used to have these really great chats about things. He was a very Christlike person in many ways. I miss him and love him. I just hope that he knew how much I really did love him.