Amy1

I have another friend in heaven today. She actually went there yesterday. She was 36 earth years old. Sometimes having friends younger than you does not guarantee that they will outlive you, and you may still have to deal with the hole that is left in your life when they are gone. She and I had the same doctor, and almost the same disease. She was brave and funny and full of faith. Sometimes we would talk on the phone late at night and she was not so brave, or funny, or full of faith. That's what made her wonderful and a good friend to me. We could take off our happy faces and look squarely at the reality of our situation, wrestle it to the ground together, and keep going. It makes things easier when you have a friend like that. She was able to be that friend for many people at the same time, but I would be glad to be able to be that friend even just for one other person. She left so many gifts for those of us who knew her that it will be a long time before we fully realize that she is not with us still. Maybe we don't have to miss her so much, maybe we can just open the card again, as if we just received it in the mail, and read the sweet inscription. We can put the ribbons in our hair that she gave us, and buy the biggest ice cream cone we can find and lick every tasty drop and hear her laugh. Save me a cupcake, Amy, one with vanilla icing.