Alexis Graduates

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 16, I go to LaCrosse, Kansas for my second grandchild's graduation. I missed her 8th grade promotion because I went on a trip, but I promised her that nothing short of dying would keep me away from her high school graduation.

Alexis was a pretty little girl with reddish brown hair that matched her eyes perfectly. She was a quiet girl who adored her older brother Zeb. And to this day, Zeb still tries to "take care" of her.

One day, I got a phone call from my daughter. Alexis had been run over. I immediately headed for the hospital My heart felt as if it would race away, leaving me behind. When I got to the hospital, I could see that she was fine, but they wanted to send her to Denver just to make for sure all was okay. I hugged her and held her in my arms there in the hospital room, then went home to wait. Wait to hear that everything was okay. And now she's graduating from high school and enrolled at Wichita State University in the nursing program.

Alexis ran over herself. She was in the car and somehow shoved the gear into neutral and the car started to roll. Thinking that she could stop it like she would her bicycle, she opened the door and stuck her foot outside. It pulled her out of the car and under the tire that rolled right over her abdomen. There was a man who saw this happen. The car was about to roll over her again when he pulled her to safety. This man had to be a channel to her guardian angel.

Alexis loved to dress up and had a pair of pink slippers that she loved. She wore those slippers until they were falling apart. Julie would throw them away and Alexis would go to the trash and dig them out. Finally, Julie gave them to me and asked me to get rid of them. I didn't get rid of them. I took them home, put them in the closet and have those pink slippers to this day. All the other grandkids have tried them on, but Alexis is the first person I think of when I see them.

I helped Alexis decorate her bedroom one time. Purple, purple everywhere. We painted two shades of purple and also sponged purple over purple around the windows and doors. She kept her room like that for a long time, and when she decided to change it, she worried that Grandma would be upset if she did. Not to worry. We all have changes in taste as we grow older. Now her bedroom is black.

I could tell you lots of stories about Alexis, but I won't. She probably wouldn't like me to do that. I will tell you that she works at a nursing home, she gets wonderful grades in school and she has a promising future in the nursing field. I am very proud of our Alexis Rose, and I love her very much.