It’s been two weeks since my lovely Rhonda passed and I am still devastated, but the four wonderful children she brought into this world and nurtured so perfectly have surrounded me with love and comfort.
Over 1,000 friends and family attended her services and/or sent flowers and other tributes to her memory. I want to thank them and those of you who have prayed for us and who have honored Rhonda in other ways.
Our family has cried hard and we have laughed at happy memories of her. With the help of others who have experienced similar losses, I have accepted I can get through this but I will never get over this. I don’t ever want to lose her memory.
Although I first reacted with indignation to internet conspiracy theories about her death, I’ve since been amused because I know Rhonda would have laughed, and if I were on the outside I might have similar concerns. Without violating her privacy, I can dismiss some of those theories by disclosing: she did not take the COVID shots (we were both seropositive by the time they became available), our house is very secure, family was in the house the night she passed, and an autopsy has been conducted (we do not yet have results).
I have joked that after poring through hundreds of photographs of us since high school, the only credible conspiracy I can offer is a gorgeous girl who was a literal genius conspired to make a congressman, who would be steerable by no one but her, out of an awkward nerd by taking him as her boyfriend at age 16 and committing to decades of continuously molding him into something better. #sassywithmassie
I am returning to work for the people of Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District, and I beg your forgiveness for the votes I missed during this difficult period. With Rhonda no longer with me, I will strive to summon the grace and patience and wisdom she quietly and selflessly dedicated to the effort of serving you.