Monday, March 7, 2011

Our Angel

This week I'll be posting the letters the kids and I wrote for Karl's memorial service in New York that his family gave him.
I heard it was beautiful and not a dry eye in the place.
I know many of you would have loved to have attended, believe me, we would have too.

I'll start out with mine and add the boys tomorrow.

angelvinny-copy


"A Loving Tribute to My Beautiful Angel…

First, I would to thank all of you for blessing us with your being here today.

I could probably go on for hours telling you all about my husband, Karl, but I’ll try to keep it short and sweet because if I don’t I will for sure hear his voice say, “Kim…will you please get to the point!”.

You may have noticed we call him “Vinny” a lot. It was a family joke in our home.
One day, maybe a year or so ago, Karl on some crazy impulse decided that “Vinny Provolone” {yes, like the cheese} was to be his new “alter ego”.
Vinny, my handsome, funny, romantic, incredibly sweet & sober new man. I instantly became his “Isabella” or “Izzy” as he mostly called me. Actually “Dizzy Izzy” was more like it but lets not go there.

No, Karl didn’t have even a smidgen of Italian in him but to watch him stuff bread sticks in his cheeks at The Olive Garden and recite “The Godfather”, you’d never know it.

I remember one day, last summer, while on a shopping trip to Sams Club we couldn’t find the kids. We were ready to leave and apparently Kody, Kolin and Kaysha were still hitting up every free sample booth in the store. Karl decided to have a little fun with that and promptly went to the front counter and had them announce loud and clear, “Would the children of Vinny Provolone please get to the front of the store, your Dad says it’s a long walk home”.
Yes, they were embarrassed to the max, but they never did get lost again.

Karl had quit drinking two years ago. He was a proud member of AA. They made a huge impact on his life and in turn made a huge impact on our lives as well.
I will admit it took a while to get used to this new and improved sober healthy man, but I am so glad I did.
Straight out, he was perfect. We had the perfect marriage. So many people and co-workers of his used to tell us they were actually jealous of the way we would still act like two love struck teenagers. They said we had the greatest love story ever and we did.
When he was asked for advice, {and even when he wasn’t asked} Karl would tell people “Never lose that spark, the one that started your relationship in the first place. It’s easy to lose and if you do, you got to find it and never, ever be quick to give up”.

My Vinny kept that spark alive till the day he left as the very last words we spoke to each other about an hour before he died were simple and honest “I love you”.

I miss and love that beautiful man more then words on a piece of paper can ever describe.
Walks on the beach holding hands, our coffee time together before the kids woke up, sharing his chocolate stash in bed at night, complaining how we couldn’t seem to lose weight {darn that sweet tooth and chocolate stash!}, laughing, looking into each others eyes and saying “I love you” without ever speaking a word, “Baking Mondays”, his threats of cutting me off from new shoes {although he never followed through on any of them, in fact on Christmas morning, three days after he died was a wrapped up box from him to me with, what else but another new pair of shoes}, acting silly in stores, his delicious grilled chicken cutlets, the way he’d bake me a cherry pie for no reason other then I loved his cherry pie, his long hair and his long hugs…these are just a few of the things that I miss so very much.

Vinny was my sweetheart, my best friend, my lover and my soul mate. I believe with all my heart, because of the “gifts or signs” he still leaves me, that he is still with us.
I know in my heart that we were always meant to be soul mates and that one sweet day we will be reunited to spend all of eternity together.
I can promise you that day the stars will twinkle and shine brighter because I will be back in the arms of the man who stole my heart {and took a huge piece of it with him} thirty one years ago.

To our family in New York, thank you so much from all of us here in Florida for honoring the memory of my sweet Angel and especially to Karl {Dad} and Donna for giving this incredible man to me all those years ago.

Bless you all.

With love,
Kim a/k/a “Izzy” a/k/a “Vinny’s Girl Forever”."

Photobucket

22 comments:

Barb in Canada said...

Just beautiful! and thank you for letting us get to know Vinny/Karl btw has anyone ever said he looks like Patrick Swayze? he sure does to me and just a question and sorry to bother you I am a computer ditz is there anyway I can read your blog without the black background? I love your blog but I am prone to migraines and the black and white does me in, if anyone could tell me how to make it less black if possible it would be so appreciated :)

Anonymous said...

I think it was ROSE Kruppenbacher that gave him life!

Acutescrubnurse said...

Kim, this is absolutely perfect!! What a precious letter about your Vinny Provolone!! Love it!!
Rita

tricia said...

so sweet.........I feel the love

Linnae said...

Absolutely beautiful, Kim. By the way, I loved the picture of Kody in his Daddy's clothes. I'm glad he felt proud wearing them!

Debbie said...

Beautiful Kim, just beautiful. Wiping tears away. Thanks for sharing and he is with you.

God Bless~
Debbie Jean

jbaj said...

This was beautiful...

Cheyenne said...

Absolutely beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing that.

Anonymous said...

Kim, that is such a sweet and honest look into the lives you and Karl shared together. I totally get it. I meet my husband when i was 15 and we got married when i was 17 he was 18. We are still together and couldnt imagine my life without him, but what happened to your family is a big slap in the face wake up call , nothing is promised. Beautiful letter :)
BTW, cant get over what a huge and handsome man Kody is growing up to be.
Donna, ny

Kim said...

"I think it was ROSE Kruppenbacher that gave him life!"

That's true and I thank Mrs. Rose as well. I have thought a lot about how sweet it is now that she is with him again.
I didn't mean to offend and I apologize.
Kim

Kim said...

Barb..I can try and work on that. It may take a little while but I will. :0)

Margie said...

Kim that was beautiful. I'll have kleenex with me when I read the ones for the boys.

christie said...

{hugs} {hugs} and more {hugs}
Your posts bring me to tears, what a beautiful letter about your Vinny .. my husband and I started dating when I was 16 he was 19 and it's been 16 years now ... I hope our love continues to grow ... just as yours did. xoxo

Shiela in NY said...

PHEW! I'm sitting here with a very heavy, aching, heart. No joke. I should have known better to check your Blog during my work hours. If I get any customers I'll gladly tell them why I have tears in my eyes and all about Karl and how much he and his family has meant to me for so long. Your letter was (is) beautiful, Kim. Again, you share the most tender, intimate, things with people that you've never even met. Your words are like a story book ... I just wish it were true an I could close the book and have you with Karl once again, here on Earth. I am SO thankful for your friendship and want to thank you for sharing this post with us. LUV ya, like always.

Mary Therese said...

Kim, what wonderful memories! Thank you for sharing!!!

Karen said...

Beautiful!!!!! I too, feel the love!

Hugs, Karen

Karen said...

Simply Beautiful!!

Hugs, Karen

Barb in Canada said...

Oh my gosh Kim please don't even worry about the black for me I just thought maybe someone would know how to make it less intense is all don't give it another thought xoxoxoxoxoox I had the idea today of wearing my sunglasses when I read because I am not giving this place up :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Barb,

If you hit "select all" under Edit on the upper left hand side you will be able to read it better.

Debby from Avon, OH said...

Kim,

You have such beautiful memories of your true love. I love the way Karl's mustache & goatee looks like a heart shape in that picture. I am so happy that you feel his presence and you probably will until you meet again:) I loved the way you signed off Vinny's Girl Forever. Thank you for sharing.... I can feel your love for him.

Dot O said...

Hugs and prayers always.... Beautiful post, Kim. I am sure he's smiling down on you all of the time.

Lynn said...

You know... it all felt so familiar as I read your post. I mean over the years you have shared the sweet day to day activities of your lives...the simple pleasures of your days. We were familiar with the wonderful early morning coffee time...I could always smell that coffee whenever you talked about it! I could see you two sipping and talking together. : )
And the great cook he was (many times over the years I wished I lived up the street so I could drop by when it was mealtime there!) The man could throw down some awesome meals! Sometimes my mouth watered at your descriptions... and his gardens - how he loved tending and working the soil and bringing forth both beauty (flowers) and good food.

I LOVED his honest, out-there, self confidence. He always seemed so comfortable in his own skin, just being who he was. And really loved how expressive he was over his love for family. His face glowed when his arms were around his family, or his attention was focused on them. You could just read it in his face - the love that flowed from his heart for all of you. The best pictures of Karl are those where he is not looking at the camera to 'pose'.. but when he is looking at one of yall in the pictures- the tenderness and love in his expression is so precious.

I was so proud of Karl myself, when he made the decision to quit the alcohol. I think his character was strengthened by overcoming that addiction. He became a better man. His decision demonstrated an unselfishness and the desire to be the best he could be for his family.
I still remember how proud he was to move his family to the new home. I know you all had dreamed of that day for a long long time. I'm so glad he got to see that dream come true, and I pray you can remain in that sweet little home for as long as you wish.

He worked hard to give his family so many nice things.. but the best thing he gave was himself. He truly gave himself.

I'm glad we got to know him on a personal level through your sharing over the years and even through his occasional sharing.

You were so blessed, girl... so blessed.

Love and hugs,
Lynn

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin