Colene:
To
my partner, my sister, my best friend. I will miss you. You are so much
a part of the fabric of my life, that I can’t imagine living without you,
but I know what you will say. You will say, " You can do it." You
will say, " I am not gone." And you will be with me still.
In the last months, we have had a chance to talk so much that there is probably not much left unsaid between us. I feel very lucky for that. That I know you left..knowing that you are appreciated, that you are loved, and that I respect you more than anyone else I know.
But, in front of other people who loved you, I want to say thank you….
Thank you for being the one person there in my life who always had perspective, insight and support for me.
Thank you for the laughter that we shared, and the adventures that we enjoyed. Thank you for being the person who saw the best in me, even when other people weren’t sure. Thank you for your faith in me, even when I wasn’t sure I had any. Thank you for your profound faith in God and nature…that sustained me, almost as much as it sustained you.
Thank you for being the person in my children’s lives..that they could always go to and talk to.
Thank you for your inspiration, and your love of life..that sometimes caught me by surprise.
Thank you for your recognition of my successes and understanding of my failures.
Thank you for seeing things in me that no one else ever looked quite far enough to find.
Thank you for your quirky sense of humor, for your wonderful intellect, for your objectivity, for your willingness to work, always work with me, for me, beside me…
Thank you for your abiding compassion for people, and willingness to think the best of everyone.
Thank you for your crusty wake-up calls, your intolerance of too much foolishness, for your willingness to deal with life as it is, without losing your faith in what it could be.
Thank you for your humanity, your insight and your strength.
I will miss you…but I will feel you in my every day and love you all my life.
