A friendship on the sidelines
Dear Reader,
First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for being here. It means a lot to me.
Now that I’m actually doing this, I’m feeling a bit nervous. Not about sharing the letters, but about how I’m going to be consistent. I hadn’t really come up with a structured plan. I just knew I wanted to get this out there in hopes that I would follow through. So please bear with me as I navigate through this.
As of now, I will be posting one letter per week on Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings are significant because those were spent with my dad. I hope you can enjoy reading the letters the way we spent Sunday mornings, with a cup of coffee and maybe a donut. Something like a Tuesdays with Morrie. Sunday mornings with Charlie.
After sharing the last post on social media, my subscriber list started growing. I was looking through my list of original subscribers when I saw my friend Katie’s name. I immediately recognized her email address, blysful@aol.com.
Seeing that email address was a hard-hitting reminder that she was no longer here, reading my blogs, being that amazing friend she always was. To put it simply, the first word that comes to mind when describing her is cheerleader. She would get a huge kick out of being described that way, but it’s true.
I could write lists of all the little things Katie did for me, but what’s more important than any of that, is how she made me feel.
Katie always made me feel loved.
Our kids had played sports together. From baseball to basketball to football. While they were growing up alongside each other, we were watching from the sidelines, cheering them on, and often holding each other up. (Single moms are good at that)
Her passing made me realize just what a good friend she had been. We have so many close friends in life, but sometimes we have these people that we didn’t realize played such a main role in our lives. That is, until they are gone. That is when you realize the little ways, they showed up big for you.
The other day I started thinking about all the ways she showed up for me. She wasn’t just there after he passed, but beforehand as well. Katie had done palliative care, so she knew a lot on the subject of death and dying.
These messages are a reminder that as Dr. Maya Angelou said, “It’s not what you say, but how you make them feel.”
When my dad passed away, I was reminded of this. I often ran into people who shared a story of how Dad had made them feel. I could list them all, but I think my son said it best when he stated, “he didn’t just say it, he believed it!”
My dad and Katie definitely had this quality in common.
In the coming weeks I want to share these letters and stories to help anyone who is struggling in their journey with grief. I want to share memories of dad so that his legacy lives on. But most importantly I want to remind you all how beautiful life is.
How important these little moments are in making big differences in the lives of everyone you meet.
Everybody needs their own cheerleader from time to time.
MAYBE THAT CHEERLEADER IS YOU!
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