My Friend Sandy

The early morning of September 25th I was woken up by a phone call.  It was my friend Heather and she knows I'm not a morning person so I figured something was up. It was the phone call I knew would eventually come but I had been dreading.  My friend Sandy had passes away the night before. At first I was speechless, then in a bit of denial and then I just cried.

I posted this to my Facebook page: "My heart is broken today. Heaven gained a beautiful spirit in my wonderful friend, Sandy. She put up a good fight but now she's been released from her constant pain and can be in peace. I don't think one can ever be mentally or emotionally prepared for the pain and hurt of losing a loved one. She touched many peoples lives in a positive way and we are all better for knowing her. I pray for strength in healing and for long lasting sweet memories for her family, friends and her two little boys."

Sandy had been battling ALS for about 10 months and lost the fight.  She is someone I worked with for 10 years.  There were times when we worked together that I would talk to her every day and sometimes for an hour or more. She and I had a lot of things in common. We both played tennis, she has two little boys that are the same age as my little boys. We supported the same businesses at work. We bonded over the movie Pitch Perfect and we even took her to the theater to watch Pitch Perfect 2 when it came out even when she was in her wheelchair and breathing mask. She is someone I considered one of my closest friends even though we had never met in person until after her diagnosis. I wish I had more time with her. She was so young. It was tragic....and rough to recover from. I still have moments that make me cry when I remember her, miss her or think about how sometimes life just isn't fair. Now I can just count my blessings, squeeze my kids a little harder, try to be more patient, and be thankful for the time I had with her.

 Me, Heather and Sandy from our trips to Charlotte. 

 Sandy, Jack and Henry.

 Henry's poster of his mom and him.

Jack's poster of his mom and him.