Thank you!

Many have approached me about the anniversary of Carol's passing.  I really have not thought about the year since Carol has been gone.  Everyday I wake up, it was yesterday.  I think about how Carol was always up before the sun.  The lamp was on by the chair with her devotion on the side table.  The coffee was already made and an empty cup was on the counter by the sink.  It was very rare to see Carol when I got up, but it would have been in that green chair in the corner...quite possibly yesterday.

Although it has been a year as well. The line of people sharing how their lives were impacted in some way by knowing Carol was a year long.  It has been a year of carpools, track meets, play practices, and volleyball games that Carol would have made into a day.  I miss Carol a year--every day.  

But most of all, it has been a year of seeing the body of Christ come alive and shower our family with grace (unmerited favor for those of you who don't attend Perimeter).  I cannot do it personally, but I want to thank everyone for a year, helping our family, loving us and most of all sharing in the joy for having known this remarkable woman.

The Sylvesters

Missing you!

I just wanted you to know how much I miss seeing Carol every Saturday morning. My body pump class followed hers. She would always welcome me with her warm smile. She touched so many lives and I'm so blessed that I got to know her. Because of her influence, I am a regular participant in Melissa Hayes yoga class that she took over for Carol at the AAC. She reminds me a lot of Carol, very spiritual and uplifting. God Bless Carol Sylvester and her family!

In His Name,

Margaret

Serving Others Even While on Vacation

One of my favorite memories of Carol comes from one of our beach trips.  We would often take our families to Florida and share a house on the beach.  This particular day my husband, Stuart, and I were sitting on the beach soaking up the sun and being very lazy.  We turned around just in time to see Carol stepping out of our house followed by a flock of our kids.  Smiles on their faces and food in their hands, they proceeded to hurry down the beach.  We found out that they had come across a homeless man down the beach so Carol escorted our children back to the house to make this man lunch, and then deliver the food.  It was affirmation to me that Carol was an extraordinarily special and giving human being.  And, she was a perfect role model for all of our children.  She believed in serving others and never stopped, even while on vacation.  There were many lives whom she touched, some we know about and probably as many that we never even knew about.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Written by Teresa Swinehart

Words from Christy Mosher

While I never had the opportunity to know Carol in person, I know her in spirit, for she lives on in the life of her family. It has been a privilege to get to know her sweet daughter, Audrey, through my husband's seventh-grade 2013-2014 class. Carol must have lived out her faith in word and deed (as so many have testified that she did!), for Audrey has handled this most difficult turn in her life's journey with grace. The beauty of the truth of the gospel is that Carol is not dead, but alive, and one day I will know her personally as we worship Jesus together in heaven. I look forward to meeting this amazing woman, for she has brought glory to God in both life and death. Until then, I continue to lift up in prayer the sweet Sylvester family. May the peace that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. He loves you, and so do the Moshers!

Sincerely,

Christy Mosher

Simple Memories from Angie

My memory of Carol is small and simple but in it's simplicity, I think it reflects qualities that made Carol so dear to so many.

Carol (and Stuart) were our carpool buddies in our early years at Perimeter School.  We both lived in Peachtree Station and had kids that were similar ages attending the school.  The memory that stands out most for me was her preparing and delivering a meal only a few days after I had come home with our fourth child.  Carol had not long since given birth to Audrey, but there she was making us a meal!  She included a sweet card that congratulated us on the new baby, but also said something like, "Please don't worry about writing a thank-you note for the meal.  Save that time and enjoy your new baby!"  She meant it of course.  

We resumed carpooling several years later as we were living again (almost) in the same neighborhood.  It was very common for her to text me and say "Hey, can I pick up Griffin for you and save you a trip to the school?"  She was so dear, so very thoughtful and kind and so full of love.  

Angie Presley 

Carol: The Pilates Instructor

I was one of those disciples of Carol for the Saturday morning Pilates class.   Having suffered for years with back problems, I went to the class at the strong suggestion of a friend and my back problems were gone almost overnight.   For many years I would recommend anyone with back issues to attend that class.   Many did attend and were so grateful to me but it was all Carol.   She had a way of teaching the class that reached out to everyone.   It is so funny that today I’m writing this note because I have not gone to the class since Carol left us.   Last week, something kept telling me to return to the class which I did last Saturday and it was so good to see all the familiar faces.   Then, up pops this reminder on my PC to send this note today. 

Carol, we miss you and think of you often.  You really changed many of us and we were blessed that our paths crossed.

God bless you and your family.

Bernie May

Memories from the Budd Family

For fifteen years I was a missionary who would come to the US every now and then, and when in Atlanta, the Sylvester home was often a home base.  Not only is Stuart my very good friend, but getting to use his home as a base for a week or two at a time gave me a good chance to get to see a family in action, something I didn't see often as a single guy.  One of my main living examples of marriage and parenting came from Stuart and Carol.

Nine years into my missionary service, I found my wife-to-be, and Carol, with 4 kids, all of them rather young - was gracious to allow Stuart to travel half way around the world for a few days to be the best man at our wedding.  Not too many wives in her situation are so willing to let their husband leave home - for a fun reason.  Obviously, Carol valued her husband's friendships and gave him space to be a supportive friend.  I didn't fully realize the sacrifice at the time, but 3 kids of my own later - I certainly see the extra load she took on to make that possible.

Future visits to the Sylvester home from overseas was with my young bride, and then with two young children.  Allowing a family of 4 (with toddlers) to come stay with a family of 6 (with busy school aged children), and be such an awesome hostess could not have been easy - but we were never made to feel like we were a burden or in the way.  Carol gave us just the right amount of care and support to our mostly trivial needs, but gave us freedom to come and go and figure out things on our own as well.  We always felt so at home in her home.  We would feel refreshed by our time in the Sylvester home:  Carol spent time visiting with us, sharing life stories with her signature laugh, and spoke wisely about the real stuff that life is made of.  For a young couple with a young family, the Sylvester home became even more a living classroom about marriage and parenting. 

A joke in our home is how Carol gave a young married couple the task of learning how to change a diaper on one of their young children - and how complicated it seemed at the time.      

While it's usually easy to find things one doesn't like about any given person...finding something negative about Carol was impossible.  Carol was one of the most balanced, normal, yet real people we've ever met.  It's not because she had everything perfect - but she found a way to make life work with the right attitude, and she lived it well.

Her exit from this world to the next is this world's loss.  Our lives were better from time to time because of this gracious sister who gave us shelter and refreshment in our travels, and became a true friend.  

Brent and Alina Budd and kids:  Ilusha, Eadie, and Ian