“A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” – Donna Roberts

I’ll try to keep this short. I could never write enough words to do her justice. The above quote sums up who she is. Every time I forget who I am, she reminds me… sometimes with gentle correction and sometimes not so gentle. I can’t imagine where I or my family would be without her. She’s always there, no matter what. I wish I could say I’ve always returned in kind. I’m in huge debt that I’ll never be able to repay, but I’ll always try and catch up. It’s hard to out give a giver.

Anything is possible when you have the right people in your life to support you, and she’s proved that to be true, always encouraging me and everyone around her. She is the anchor when you need grounding and the sail when you need to soar.

Recently she spoke at my Dad’s funeral. He had said for probably twenty years that when he died he wanted her to speak. It was perfect. Nobody else could have done what she did. She saw him often and knew him well. He loved her as if she were his own, and honestly if anyone had asked, he’d tell them quickly that she was. I’m sure my Dad was smiling the biggest smile from heaven as she spoke.

Speaking of my Dad, he loved to grow peppers. So when he died, I had one tattooed on my arm in his memory. It’s close to my heart. Just the other day, I was surprised with the best gift. Because my friend knows me and knows how much I miss my Dad, she crocheted me a pepper. It’s not just any pepper, this thing is amazing. It’s soft, squishy, and pretty big. It’s the cover photo on this post. I cried when she gave it to me. It was like a healing balm on an open wound. I’ll treasure it forever.

Maya Angelou once said
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Stephanie, you have certainly been the rainbow in so many of my clouds and so many other people’s clouds as well. It’s probably why you’ve always loved rainbows so much.

I hope to be half the friend to you that you’ve been to me. The last few months have been hard on us all, but you were there, calming the storms all around. It’s what you do and who you are. Never stop being you. Your reward could never be paid on this side of heaven. I love you and thank you for being a wonderful friend.

Published by Jeff

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