Thankful Post 20

This one is for my sister-in-law, Suzanne. Of course, I found so many pictures that I loved, so enjoy. She is one of those gorgeous gals, not just moderately pretty. I have to agree with Terri that her beauty radiates from the inside out.
Okay, I imagine my siblings-in-law might not be impressed that I dug up this relic, but you can see they cleaned up once the 80's were over. Suzie rocks the 80's era better than anyone I know. I wished my hair would reach those Long Island heights.

On the weekend I met Suzie, we were at the Murphy house and I was in the den with Sheila. Tom and Suz were in the kitchen when a huge spider appeared. The two of them were screaming and yelling-the spider was pregnant and when they hit it, babies spewed everywhere. I am a spider-phobe, which Sheila knew. She raced in and made them quit yelling and act cool, so I wouldn't find out, which I didn't.


Suzie can be an exuberant story teller, weaving tales of childhood with new twists each and every time the story is repeated. (yes, she does have the repeating story gene-friends of Murphys know it well) And in her presence, you feel like you are the only person in the room. You have her full attention-no distraction, no change of subject, no judgment. She has the gift of listening openly, which is a rare find these days when everyone has advice and opinion.

Then there is the cosmic dance connection that occurs between her and Thomas on wedding dance floors. Over the summer, the two of them broke out in full Michael Jackson routines without any rehearsal or forethought. The spontaneity made me cry with laughter. Suzie then encouraged all of us to learn the Thriller dance, which she proudly led at Chris and Kristen's wedding.
Suzie has visited the West Coast Murphys several times and it is always great fun.

My beloved sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer just before her wedding. She is a strong survivor and has turned around and grabbed the hand of many other women who needed a friend in their own fight. It has changed all of us. We learn to hold our loved ones closer and let them know love is all around them every night when they lay their head on the pillow and greets you when you wake. She has fought back with grace and spirit. And those are two things that cancer could never take from her.

My son Ian arrived amid her cancer treatments and helped to provide some distraction and excitement to a difficult time. I remember very clearly that we had no official name chosen after he was born. Suzie was the first person I spoke to following Ian's birth and she was the first one to hear his name from Thomas. And from that day on, she has been Super Aunt Soooz ever since.
Ian loves his Aunt Soooz. She is already grooming him for dance partner status, although I think he was teaching her a few moves on this last NY trip. She loves her "little buddy."
Connor spent a good part of his summer vacation growling with Aunt Suz. She would growl at him, he would growl back and laugh. When the growling stopped a few weeks later along with other words-and as things progressed toward his diagnosis, Suz was with us every step and anytime either Tom or I needed her voice. I remember the initial conversation Suzie and I had (for three hours!) about Connor and life in general. After talking to her, I felt like I could breathe in deeply and go forward.
Some of my favorite photos:


Suzie is married to Jeff, who is another GREAT brother-in-law (is anyone losing count with all of these in-laws? Because I think I am!) These two are like frick and frack. Ride in the car with them and get treated to running monologues, Seinfeld routines, several inside jokes, dead-on accents and they just don't stop. Crazy Uncle Jeff helped me one Christmas in dismantling the annoying wire ties from Ian's new toys. As you can see, Suzie and Jeff didn't miss a beat and fashioned those ties into glasses. You can see why Jeff is Crazy Uncle Jeff. I had to put all of the photos of him in because they all made me laugh!


Jeff is quite a super guy in his own right. As a catering chef in NYC, Jeff is frequently called upon by the Murphys to cook gourmet meals (he reminds me of MacGyver in a chef kind of way) and he never disappoints. In addition to his work, he hosts a radio show with great music-sadly he hasn't reached Phoenix yet. He also is a hardcore record collector. On visits to LA, he is gone for hours at a time, shipping boxes of records home. On the NY homefront, he has been known to stalk the Selden thrift shop. He is also an outstanding photographer and I hope one day I'll get a chance to go on a photo tutorial with him. He will be proud to know I remember his greatest advice - "Be prepared."




I love my sister-in-law and I want her to know that she is welcome in my guest house anytime so we can figure life out together. I am thankful she relishes her role as an aunt, thankful that she loves each of us for who we are unconditionally. oxox