oving and Caring

nly for the Good of Others.

ender hearted treasures,

elping others in Times of Need.

Missy

One of the newer members asked, "Who was Missy?" And why she meant so much to us. I've decided to place here my memories of her and why she meant so much to me.

Missy came into my life on January 12, 1997 via an email sent out by DianaDru.

Diana asked us to visit her tribute about this special lady who needed all of our prayers.

I went and continued on to Missy's On-Line Journal. The journal took me three days of crying and trying to read through my tears and gut wrenching sobs, over what Missy was going through in her life and impending death, to finish.

Missy had Lymphatic Cancer. She was a strong woman who's cancer pain was masked due to pain from a previous automobile accident, until it was to late.

Missy, instead of sitting and feeling sorry for herself, decided to put all of her thoughts and feeelings in a journal for any one to read that wanted to read it.

She opened up for all of us her heart, her soul, her fears for her daughter and her ex-husband Dan. She gave us hope again that we could all be like her in some way. A person who cared more for others than herself. A person who hated no one.

She did for others even though she was in so much agony. She created plaques for those of us who had lost someone special. She even created a site for us to place the plques on. She added so much to each and every one of us and asked nothing in return. She answered all of her own email. She corresponded almost daily with those of us that she knew needed it.

After finishing the journal entries up to 13 January, 1997, I sat and finished crying. And then I sat and talked with my husband as I had not done since our son's death in July of 1979.

We sat and talked and cried and opened up feelings that had been buried for so many years.

All of our fears about our love for each other being gone were dismissed. We were able to open up painful wounds and heal them in a way that had not been possible before.

For the first time in so many years we were both able to say I Love You, and mean it. Not just a platitude but the real thing!!

I was able to call my daughter and tell her how much I loved her.

I was able to finally sit down with my father and for the first time in 25 years, I talked to him. I wanted to tell him how much I hated him for the hell he made my life thanks to the continous sexual molestation he'd put me through from the time I was nine years old until two weeks before my eighteenth birthday.

But, instead of telling him how much I hated him, the first words out of my mouth were, "Thank you", in a calm voice. Let me tell you that both of us were shocked.

Thanks to Missy, I realized that my life was so wonderful because of the hell of my childhood.

Thanks to Missy, I realized I had a fantastic life and would not change it for the world.

Thanks to Missy, I was finally able to bury my hatred and become a human being again, showing love, compassion and caring to those so all important to me.

Thanks to Missy, I am who I am today!!!

I Love You Missy

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to ALL of the Charter Members of LOTH for creating this wonderful Forum for all of us to be part of.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to All of the members of LOTH for being you, for caring more about others than yourselves. For giving of yourselves in times of need, whether it is a cyber shoulder to cry upon, or an unexpected card that says, "Hello."

Thank you my Sisters of LOTH

Linda R. (Joanie) Jett

19 February, 1998