November 23, 2018 changed everything for me…my sister, Melissa Ann Askew, died. Unexpectedly…no warning. No signs. Nothing that I would have ever seen coming.

I have literally felt as if my heart is breaking inside my chest…unresponsive. life support. no brain activity. These are things I never thought I’d hear concerning my sister, Melissa.

Honestly, everything has been a blur. Nothing seems real. My sister, my childrens second mother-their Auntie, the person who knows me most outside of my husband, the person we have shared a home with for the last four years is gone…

I’ve cried. Screamed. Questioned God. Played the what if game. Laughed. Pinched myself. Wept uncontrollably. Prayed that Melissa’s life, passion and love would be in the forefront of my mind and not just how my sister died.

But I keep coming back to…hope and gratitude.

Hope in the fact that I will see my sister Melissa again. Hope in God never making mistakes. Hope that in time the shattered pieces of my heart will come together again.

Grateful that my sister Melissa was here on earth for 44 years and that I got to share 38 of them with her. Grateful that God saw fit to give me someone who loved my babies as much as I do. Grateful that my sister loved me to the moon and back. Grateful for the good memories, laughs and talks that can never be forgotten. Grateful for how I can now see the hand of God leading her in the last few months of her life. Grateful that my life will honor hers.

God thank you for my sister Melissa’s life. Thank you for her loving us and her loyalty. Thank you for her passion, nurturing spirit, beauty and strength. Thank you choosing me to be her little sister…Daddy God, please tell my sissy I love her and miss her so…

In Loving Memory of my Sister Melissa Ann Askew 4/3/74-11/23/18😇