Happy Birthday to/from Terry

It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that I hadn't been posting about the birthdays in our family this year.  I guess I just neglected every one of them.  As reality would have it, I had a hard time even thinking about the first several ...  they just all of a sudden were the next day.  My mind has just had a hard time wanting to work..., it's getting better little by little.  I was thinking that it would hopefully get back to normal, but if I keep having birthdays it might mean that normal just isn't going to happen anymore.  ;(   We all know that age has a way of affecting our minds too!   Okay, that isn't what I was going to post about, so on with the topic at hand.

Terry's birthday is the only birthday I've had on my mind all year.  It has been on my mind more than not.  I was so excited for it because I got Terry a present.  It wasn't really to him, as much as it was part of him, and it is from him (if I may be so bold as to suggest that).

I sent Terry's shirts away to a woman who makes things with them.

Some of these shirts are from many years ago - he hadn't worn them for several years, and others were more recent, but I can see him in every shirt.  I wish I could keep every one of the sweet creations.  They looked so awesome all together because each one of them made me think of Terry ... over and over again.  They were all him.  I LOVE THEM BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!

This woman doesn't make just anything out of shirts, but she makes the most adorable memory bears.  She calls them Tammy Bears.

 I have changed their names and lovingly call them TERRY BEARS.

I thought about making some bears myself, but didn't think I would have the time and knew I wouldn't be able to do them in secret. I also knew it would be a lot of stress that I wasn't willing to go through.  It was worth the fortune it took to have them made - at least it was for me.

This Terry Bear is for me :)  It's a bit larger than the others.

I couldn't help but hug it when I took it out of the bag and walked back to place it on a shelf, and as I did I was smiling inside and out.  I felt like a little child hugging her teddy bear, but I was really a 55 year old woman hugging her husband's shirt that was made into a Terry Bear.  Sounds silly doesn't it? But I'm okay with it!  :)

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much 

that you just want to pick them up from your mind and hug them.

This bear will sit in a cabinet stuffed with Terry's things, where I can see it and smile back at it anytime I wish.  I can even take it out and hug it if I ever feel the urge again.  (The cabinet it is going in is on it's way to the house and should arrive tomorrow, so maybe you'll see this bear again sometime when I post about that cabinet.)

I ordered one for each of my children (they share with their spouses) and I refer to them as Daddy Terry Bears

There is also one for each of my grandchildren that I label Grandpa Terry Bears.

I quickly got them photographed and made my own tags for them.

The original hope was to get them to my family on Terry's birthday (born 58 years ago TODAY), but they didn't arrive to me in time to do that like I wished so I have one box to send and I'm saving the others since they will be here next week for our family reunion.  They get to see a photograph for his birthday and then they can hug it when they get here.  Something to look forward to!

These Terry Bears truly have a heart and they brought a wonderful smile to my heart when they arrived on my doorstep.  I thought it would have been lovely to just put them all on a shelf and keep them, but I am finding that it warms my heart to give them away too, so it's a win win situation. I'll have pictures and this post to remind me of all of the bears and all of his shirts.

21 Bears in total - 1 larger one (photo above) and 20 smaller bears.  Each from one of Terry's shirts.

It's a great way to celebrate Terry's first birthday in heaven.  That, and carrot cake and ice cream for breakfast.  :)

It's going to be a good day!