Marjie was kind to have Josette stay with her during spring break (9-13 April).  She flew to Austin from BWI by herself, and Kyle met her at the baggage claim area in Austin.  Josette is not a minor (our little girl).  Kyle and Josette spent that weekend together at Marjie's home.  That week, Josette in turn visited Kyle's apartment in San Antonio.  Josette, of course, got to visit with Sarah H. as well. 

Where are you?

Hi Laura,

Yesterday, Josette reminded me of our vacation to Galveston, TX during spring break 2011.  I thanked Josette so much for reminding me.  We drove from Austin and our first stop was MD Anderson for an appointment.  It was at this time that your right arm was painful, and you didn't have any appetite.  You avoided the beach due to the sun, but one late afternoon we found a beach with no crowds.  I turned back to pick you up to join us to watch the sunset, as we always did.

We watched Kyle and Josette play together on the beach together as they always did.  We were so happy to see them together, as they always are.  You felt the sand on your feet but could not sit down due to pain.  I parked the car on the sand and you warned me, and sure enough the car was almost stuck on the sand.

We had a wonderful time together on vacation but i had leave for Virginia once again.  This memory is precious and sad that it was our last with you.

What will we do without you?

From your cd to me, xmas 2010 (Dire Straits) ...

"The sky is crying the streets are full of tears
Rain come down wash away my fears ...

If I been hard on you I never chose to be
I never wanted no one else
I tried my best to be somebody you'd be close to
Hand in hand like lovers are supposed to

As you'd sleep I'd think my heart would break in two
I'd kiss your cheek I'd stop myself from waking you ...
I'm like a wave that's got to roll into the shore
Yes and if my love's in vain how come my love is so strong ?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be.  All I do is keep the beat and bad company.  All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme.  I’d do the stars with you any time.  when we made love you used to cry.  You said I love you like the stars above I’ll love you till I die.  And there’s a place for us you ... (Dire Straits) ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These lyrics describe my feelings for you and i like the way they sound.  Always for you!

I remain amazed of your love and accepting of me through the years we are together, bringing me back to you.

I though I'd share a writing assignment I did for my writing class last semester. It's about mom and why I loved her so much. Hope you enjoy it. Love you Mom.

Laura Batchelor-Ver

The thumbprint my mother left on my heart was larger than the hole that formed when she passed away. The flashback memories engulfed with laughter and the reassuring advice she left me powerfully outweigh the sadness of her physical death and the terrible suffering beforehand. A goofy sense of humor, laidback but fun personality, and unmatched strength are qualities that define my mother – Laura Batchelor-Ver.

In all of my childhood memories of my mother, she stands on a pedestal towering over my early life. I thought I was the luckiest child in the world to be blessed with such a fun parent. The reason I cherished my mother so much as a child was due to her naïve but perfectly timed sense of humor. The countless faces she made during dinner, the voices she used to impersonate people, and above all, her breathtaking and echoing belches were all part of the perfect concoction she used to humor me. She made such an impression with her humor on me, that I automatically assume when looking at pictures of me taken as a child, laughing, that she is on the other end standing next to the photographer brilliantly contorting her face and widening her eyes, appearing as a monkey or a deranged hippopotamus with puffed-out cheeks.

            One occasion of her display of humor stands out among the rest. I was in the early years of elementary school attending a barbeque celebration hosted by the YMCA, where I attended aftercare. The high pitched shouts and shrieks of the other children playing were no match for what was to come out of my mother’s mouth. All of a sudden, there was a muffling of the children’s voices before my mother let out the loudest, deepest, and longest belch I had ever fathomed. The sound of the belch somewhat mimicked the trumpet of a giant, overly confident elephant. I’m sure a Richter scale somewhere in China could have detected the contained rumble in Cupertino, California. All of the children and parents were still and quiet when one of the aftercare counselors, trying to keep a disciplinary composure while fighting back hoards of laughter, said to our class clown Ryan, “Ryan! Apologize right now! That was very rude.”

With the biggest, brightest, and proudest smile and without hesitation I stated, “That was my mommy.” I don’t remember how everyone else attending the barbeque reacted because I was too caught up in thinking how awesome it was to have a mother, 28 years older than me, who may as well have been a best friend, and the fact I was crying because of the uncontrolled laughter that I was freely expelling.

Another reason my mother and I got along so well was due to her laidback but fun-loving personality. She had a very relaxing presence but never failed to entertain the rest of my family with any activity she planned that included us. She was not the kind of high strung mother who would pressure or force her kids into joining the most popular sport of the season or the kind that would scream like a banshee to their kids on the playing field to pay attention or to keep their head in the game. She let me choose what I wanted to pursue in life with the upmost trust. Her personality always invited me to talk freely of anything I wanted to with her. I was the type of kid who told his mother everything: how my day was, how I felt about my friends, and even which girls had my interest at the moment. Other kids would call me crazy and nuts for doing so, but the trust my mother had in me was anchor deep. This type of relationship worked out so well not only because of the vast amount of trust my mother had in me, but how much I respected that trust and my will to make her proud of me.

Beautiful trips to Mexico and Europe or even a simple visit to the movie theatre or mall proved my mother’s sense of adventure and her love of life. Whether my family was 50 feet under water, submerged in the ocean observing the colorful, whimsical marine life of the Caribbean, or spectators of an action-packed summer blockbuster, or even just making our way from shop to shop in a crowded mall, we owed it to our mom for planning. She knew how to have fun and to make fun for everyone around her. I never felt bored or embarrassed with my family because, due to my mom’s creation of fun, it felt as if I was just hanging out with my closest group of friends.

Thirdly, my mother’s amazing strength and character are her most admirable traits coming from my point of view. Ironically, I have unearthed and am still unearthing the magnitude of her strength only since she passed away. My mother battled cancer valiantly for a year and a half before the disease took her life. During said year and a half, I never witnessed her succumbing to the sickness by complaining or refusing her deadly, toxic, life-absorbing chemotherapy treatments. She fought hard and always put on a smile for my sister and me. I would have never guessed she would actually be claimed a victim by the enemy called cancer she was sparring with. I believe she put on such an act, displaying her strong spirit with a beaming smile, to reduce the amount of worry in my family’s hearts. She fooled us very well. She kept the secrets of the severity of her sickness not with the intention to blatantly trick anybody, but because she did not want us to suffer the pain of knowing that she was going to die. It was almost as if she was making the point that living a good life while you still had life at all, was more important than fearing promising death in the distance. I love my mother most for the love she had for me to shield the dark and painful truth that was to come, no matter how much I would have worried or pondered it beforehand.

The gifts my mother gave me are more valuable than any I will ever receive tomorrow: laughs, snorts and chuckles rooted from her wacky sense of humor, memories, photos, and long judgment-free talks stemmed from her relaxed but fun personality, and most importantly, the tears and worry she spared me flowering from her love for me and the rest of my family. Laura Batchelor-Ver, may you rest in peace.

Happen to pick-up a pocket book (The Art of Peace) and took it to the office.  Didn't touch it till yesterday, turned the page and a Valentines message from you dated 1993.  Precious!

"I'm wild again, beguiled again  A simpering, whimpering child again  Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - am I

Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep  When love came and told me, I shouldn't sleep
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - am I

I'll sing to you, each spring to you  And long, for the day when I'll cling to you Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - am I ..."

Happy Valentines, Laura!  I love you!  j

1991 (Palo Alto, CA), we worked for the same company.  Call it fate, destiny, call it luck, karma.  Music broke the ice and we were friends.  We would bag lunch at the park, downtown Palo Alto.  It was fun.  Laura was very outgoing and I was not but she didn't seem to mind.  She made me feel at ease.  I like that.

Laura liked driving up SandHill Rd to feed the horses apples.  Then, there were times, we would meet at one of the trails by Stanford U to take Winnie for a walk.  We began doing things together.  It was fun.

So, our first mutual interest was Brazilian music, specifically bossa nova (literally, "new way"), with the likes of Segio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, João Gilberto, Bebel Gilberto to mention a few.  The lyrical themes found in bossa nova are women, love, longing, and the best of youth.  Here's one tune i would sing to Laura.

"Why are my eyes always filled with this vision of you?  Why do I dream silly dreams that I know won’t come true?  I long to show you the stars, Caught in the dark of the sea.  I long to speak of my love, But you don’t come to me.

So I go on asking if maybe one day you’ll care.  I tell my sad little dreams to the soft evening air.  I am  quite hopeless it seems.  Two things I know how to do.  One is to dream,  Two is loving you ..."  (Antonio Carlos Jobim)

Laura and I both loved music, and she introduced me to way more genres.  But, it was Brazilian music that initially brought us together.  In fact, my "pick-up" line was "Do you like Brazilian music?"

"Like a lover, the morning sun slowly rises and kisses you awake.  Your smile is soft and drowsy as you let it play upon your face.  Oh, how I dream I might be like the morning sun to you ...

... How I envy a cup that knows your lips.  Let it be me, my love.  And a table that feels your fingertips.  Let it be me, let me be your love.  Bring an end to the endless days and nights without you ..."  (Segio Mendes and Brazil 66)