I'm struggling with this post. So, bear with me. My mom lost a special friend and someone she truly loved Wednesday. Schroeder was his own person. Lived by his own rules and floated through life. He stumbled into our lives over 25 years ago. He was in and out like the wind. He landed permanently in my mom's life a few years ago. He came to her with practically nothing. No job, a truck with expired everything, legal troubles and 10 bucks to his name. In the next few years I watched him give her all she ever wanted. Someone to love. It wasn't the fairy tale story. It wasn't with out fights or aggravation. But, it was unconditional. No matter what. No matter how mad he made her. She never gave up on him. Not even in the end. My respect for my mom grew immensely in the last few years. Schroeder was diagnosed with throat cancer approximately 18 months ago. She never left his side.

Folks, that's ultimately the greatest thing you can acquire and the only really important thing there is in life. Unconditional love. Schroeder didn't have anything else but in the end he had it all. He knew he could count on my mom. She could count on him to aggravate her and he could count of her to forgive him and still love him. They shared something special the world doesn't always see.