One Week for Kenny

I have decided to write everyday this week in tribute to my late Uncle Kenny.

Today I want to talk about Gayla.
Last night at the funeral I got to thinking about something and I told her this as we were leaving the funeral home.
She was my first best friend.
We grew up next door to each other. My aunt married her dad and so we step-cousins, but first we were friends.
There were other kids in the neighborhood, Mindy and Greg Credi, Susan Jones, but Gayla was it. Her older sister, Renee, was okay (I kid, I love Renee) but Gayla was my buddy, my pal, and my first best friend.
As a fat kid, and now a fat guy, she never judged, and just like her father, has been so accepting of me over the years.
She is truly one of a kind.
She is married to an awesome man, even though he needs to learn to bribe me a little better. My wife can tell him that I am not a fan of starbrite peppermints, especially ones you took out of a candy dish in the funeral home foyer.
She has three great girls. More about one of them later.
During the loss of her dad, she took the time to ask about me and my family. This is someone with a great heart and a concern for others.
We could use more people like her in the world.
Luckily, her daughters have inherited her gift of compassion.
Crystal, the middle daughter, holds a special place in my heart for something she did for me.
She was the nurse the night my mom died. She was with her the whole night, talking to her, comforting her, holding her hand. She is soon going to be a mom. I hope, and really I know, that her child is going to be like Gayla and Crystal...comforting, loving, and someone's first best friend.