Title

I suppose it may seem questionable why I would name this blog Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream for my Son Brian. I'll explain, Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream is my very favorite flavor ice cream, always has been. There are two types of cherry vanilla - one is the dark cherry and the other is the cherry like the marachino cherries you buy in a bottle. The one I like is the cherry like the marachino - you use it in recipes like Banana Split Cake, in mixed drinks and lemonaide and other special things. The catch is - today my favorite is VERY difficult to find.

On our birthdays, the birthday person picks out their choice of flavor ice cream and cake. We have searched all over our area for my Cherry Vanilla - there's the dark cherries, but it has a heavier less sweet taste than the one I prefer.

My son Brian was my second child, he was a sweet child, thoughtful, considerate and loving. He bought me the most beautiful gifts. He was helpful. He wrote wonderfully long letters when he was in the Army. He loved God and never lost his faith when he left home. He was helpful and a hard worker. He had a fabulous laugh and a temper. He loved his mom and dad and his sister and brothers and nephew. He was honest and trustworthy. He was a good son. Brian was the dependable one.

I dedicated almost 10 years of my life taking care of Brian after his accident and I would do it again. When he died, so did a part of me. There is an emptiness, a void, and a silence when he was and should be. If you love something so much there is no label you can give it, but there is yearning for the presence, the laugh, smile and a word. Never did he ever say good-bye without saying I Love You Mom!

My search for Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream is not the same as the yearning for my son, but the sweet memories and desire for having it or being with my son is as close to talking about it as can be expressed.