STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Dear Us,

We are two of the strongest women I know! Why it has taken me weeks to think of this, I have no idea. But that is the way inspiration and writing work. I just needed a little nudge. It came in the form of a very special someone you left behind. So here's to us during a month that honors strong women! And here's to the honored one left behind to write about two of the most beautiful women I am honored to know and carry on with their legacy.

Both of us had good, middle class, safe childhoods in which we grew up in neighborhoods and schools that we never had to leave due to parents having to move. One of us was best friends with her mom. One of us had a dad who was her hero. Both of us had brothers that shaped who we became. Both of us had high school friendships that only movies are made of, including our own friendship. Those friendships lasted throughout our adulthood, and popped up when we least expected it but needed it the most.

We both moved on to fall in love. Your heart fell for a navy man that was gone often. Mine fell for the boy next door. One of us was a part of the wedding, the other one was present with the biggest smile. Both of us had our hearts and worlds shattered, one of us by a man who didn't love enough, the other by a man who loved another. Both of us picked ourselves up off the bathroom floor and put our big girl shoes on. It was to be the first of many obstacles to come where our strength continued to shine on.

Both of us moved on to a life filled with children. One of us brought the most beautiful souls into the world, one of us taught beautiful souls. One of us gave birth to a special needs child, one of us was in the delivery room when that special child was born. I just cannot imagine what you were feeling when you learned the news of your precious baby girl. But you picked yourself up off the bathroom floor and put your big girl shoes on. You went on to have another beautiful baby girl as a playmate, friend, and role model for the firstborn. They have both grown into exceptional human beings.

One of us taught in an elementary school, one of us had a preschooler attending that same elementary school who went on to become a teacher herself. One of us was struggling as a young, single mom with little income. One of us had a bright career that crashed and burned when she went to another school and experienced micromanagement and bullying. Both of us picked ourselves up off the bathroom floor and survived on strength and courage.

Each of us went on to have health issues, but yours far surpassed mine. Details are fuzzy because of a desire for privacy, but what started as a blood disorder turned into a more formidable enemy - leukemia. But you picked yourself up off the bathroom floor. You fought a courageous fight that included blood transfusions, isolation, pain, and suffering. But you had much to live for - your girls, a second chance at love, and a close tribe of friends and family. So your strength carried you on through remission, travel, and recurring illness with one final trek through beloved landscape most healthy people could not have managed. And now I am left wondering why fate took such an exceptional soul, and I am still standing.

However, stand I will! I will stand on the strength that brought us together, on the strength that carried us through life, and on the strength your legacy leaves behind. Thank you for inspiring me, motivating me, and elevating me along our journey called life. I'm so glad you smiled that mega watt smile at me from across the room in Mr. Hostetler's class all those years ago.

Dear Us,

We are two of the strongest women I know! We had each other. We had a friendship. We had a bright life. And we made a difference, one strength at a time.

Forever in love,

Me