Take care this holiday season: Don’t drink and drive

To the editor: I wanted to update you on how things have gone since we moved into our new Habitat for Humanity home that was built to meet the special needs of my husband, daughter and my two grandsons ages 4 and 9 that I have raised since they were born.

It will be one year to the day after Thanksgiving, Nov 28, that we got to move in—in the middle of an ice storm—to our new home.

We didn’t get to celebrate Thanksgiving in there, but did celebrate Christmas. It was a wonderful Christmas.

We have so much to be thankful for and thank the many, many people who helped build and furnish our home. It has lessened my stress and given me the much-needed time to give more attention to my family’s special needs.

Joshua, who turned 9 in July, is doing OK health-wise. He is having some delayed reactions to the change, missing things that he has been used to for 8 years. So we are working on finding things to help him get adjusted.

Tyler turned 4 Nov. 12 and loves his new house, loves his room and the fact there is more room to grow. He attends head start now and loves school.

Sheena is going through some tough times herself. She had an MRI to recheck the water on her brain and some lesions/white spots were found. So, now she has to see a neurologist in January to determine what they are.

My Hubby Al, who has end-stage COPD/emphysema and Type II diabetes and congestive heart failure is very thankful for the house. He sees how much easier it makes things for me.

Me...I’m trying to stay strong with everything and keep positive thoughts and make sure that the family’s needs are met and there is plenty of love for everyone.

Joshua has a special message. With the holidays coming up, he has thought a lot about my daughter Jackie, his aunt that was killed by a drunk driver six years ago as she and Sheena were riding bikes home from the store. He wasn’t quite 3 yet, but he thought the world of her as she did him and hasn’t forgotten her.

It was Jackie’s dream to see us have a new house something nice and better condition; that dream came true, but she didn’t get the chance to see that dream or be a part of it.

So we dedicated our new home in her memory. Over the past six years, we have had to try and gently explain to Joshua where Jackie went and why she never came home.

He has heard the talk of the drunk driver and a bit of what happened.

So he has asked me to tell you all this with the holidays coming up and other times.

“Please, if you drink bad drinks, please don’t get in a car and drive, because you might lose control and hurt or kill someone like my Aunt Jackie or even someone little like me.

“And it hurts so very much not to see my Aunt Jackie anymore. I wish there were no drunk drivers.”

Susie Harrison
Lee Township