Saying Goodbye to another Friend

I am not yet 30. At my age, you never think about friends dying. Its been almost 4 months since Cassie went to heaven after a battle with cancer. I still think about her often, and pray that no one else I'm close to ever has to go through what she went through. I'm fortunate though, because as a teenager I never lost a friend to a car accident or anything like that, Cassie was the first close friend that was young that I lost. When you lose someone you think of all those things you've always said you'd do and looking back at what I've gotten to do, I've had some great experiences. When I was 13 I said I wanted a nametag in Yellowstone that said Lori--Missouri. In other words, wouldn't that be the greatest place to work. Ten years ago, I got that nametag, had an extraordinary summer that I wouldnt have traded for anything. I spent the following two summers out west, loving the land, discovering things about myself, and making close friends that would move mountains for you if needed. Where am I going with this rambling? This week I got news that one of those close friends...someone I spent almost every waking hour with the summer of 2000 passed away. Melissa's family doesn't know why. She was 25 years old and simply didn't wake up Monday morning. She had three small children, ages 3, 4, and 5. So many questions left unanswered and again, all I can do is think back on all of the good times we had, from working at the sheep center, Melissa putting on the sheep costume while I sat beside her nearly frozen in the fourth of July parade, to the late night phone calls after the summer had ended. And then there's the past few years, we've both been busy with life, an email here and there, an occassional phone call, but not a lot of communication. But still, I will always think of her as a close friend. And now, the best thing any of us can do, whether you knew Melissa or not, is to pray for her family, especially her husband, as he is now faced with raising his family without a mother, and dealing with losing the love of his life.

While on a somber note, also pray for little Logan, a four year old little boy of a close friend of mine. This week they found out he has cancer and they have begun chemotherapy. Pray for his parents, Diane and Eric as well, because being a mother now, that would be my worst nightmare coming true.

Life isn't all somber, but with an email like this, I think I should wait until another post to add the funny antecdotes (however you spell it) of my life.