Cassie

To the left you will notice a very, sweet little girl. All Holy and angelic and such, in her tiny little First Communion garb. This is my sister Jen's daughter Cassandra. Well, everyone calls her Cassie...except for me I call her CrazyPants & CassieKid amongst other things.

She is living with my Mom who will be rearing the little sprout. I am assuming my Mom knows what she has gotten into. It is a huge responsibility and she seems okay with it.

Cassandra is a pretty sharp kid, or as they say in New England "that kid is wicked smaht". She really is. I'm not just saying that because she's my nice. Jen did a pretty good job bringing her up to this point. She reads well, helps around the house and get this..she loves school.

At her mother's wake and funeral she just observed everyone. Jen and my Mom had prepared her pretty well I think. I had a moment in front of the casket when I kinda lost it. I had my face in my hands, sobbing, she just stood there looking,. Maggie came up and put her arms around Cassie and told her "every things okay, we're just sad because we're going to miss your mommy." She touched her mommy in her casket and wondered why she was so cold. My brother opened his mouth to speak and we all shuddered briefly. My brother is s good guy but sometimes says some crazy crap. He calmly explained to her that when some one's heart stops beating, the blood stops flowing and that is what keeps you warm. Cassie thought on this for a moment and the said "like this?" and tilted her head to the side, eyes closed, tongue hanging out of her mouth, like she was dead.

She catches everything...I mean things people say and do. She's pretty observant. She makes references to lines in tv shows and movies, and she uses them at the proper points in conversation, too. She is a strong little tyke and has, until this point, keeping it together after losing her mommy. Last couple days however, she has been crying alot. But not saying her she misses her mommy. She gets 'hurt' easily. Every little thing, and she sobs and cries. She told my mother, who from here on in will be referred to as 'Mims', "I never got hurt when Mommy was alive". Deep for an eight year old.

In a week or so, her an Mims will be coming to see us and we'll be taking her out for a fun filled day. My mother needs to get the heck out of that house. She needs a break. When she comes here, Maggie and I will cook for them and take them around. Hopefully giving them a couple of days of relaxation and taking their minds of things.