A post of a different kind

Today's post is not about adoption. It's about endings. To me, adoption is a beginning. The beginning of a lifetime of caring and sharing. Endings are those things that interrupt the lifetime. Friday became an ending for many things. Let me fill in the background story......
Over 6 years ago I was a single mom of 2 little girls. My daughter Katie met and became best friends with a little girl named Haleigh. Two little blonde cuties who could pass as twins. Thru their friendship I met Tammy, Haleigh's mom, who was also a single parent of 2 kids. Tammy was dating Bobby. Bobby's best friend of 20 years was Chris. Tammy and Bobby set Chris and me up on a blind date and the rest is history. Bobby and Chris were also good friends with Jeff, who is Tammy's ex-husband, and Greg his brother. Over the years all of us had hung out together, watched football games, band competitions, cheerleading events etc. There were many cookouts and family events we all celebrated. Nanny is Jeff and Greg's mother, Haleigh's grandmother and Tammy's ex-mother-in-law. She has known Chris for 20 years. When we had Levi, it was Tammy who suggested Nanny to care for him. She has been the only person to take care of him since he was born. We love her like family. No, not 'like' family, they ARE family. When we were thinking about adoption, we asked her opinion since she would be just as involved with raising these kids as we were. She was all for it. God I love that woman!
On Friday, two policemen came to my house. They came to tell Nanny that Jeff was dead. He had been murdered. Shot in the chest. The last contact she had was a text message from him at 10:17 am that said 'I love you Mom'. Then he was gone.
We all look forward to the firsts in life. A baby's first steps, first words, first day of school. We don't think of the lasts. The last Father's Day, the last dinner together, the last 'I love you Mom'.