A Celebration

My friend Heather lost her life to cancer Sunday, January 8th. Being with her and her family during her last few hours was an experience unlike any other. It is time I am grateful for.

I had been worrying about how my husband and I would explain this loss to our boys. When it came time to discuss it with them, Owen shocked us both with his reaction. He said, "It's okay because Heather had the Terry Fox cold. But now that she died, she is better. Now all her friends and family can gather together and celebrate her life." He had been taught about Terry Fox in school in October, so I knew that that was how he understood what cancer is. We aren't sure where he had learned about funerals, but he seemed to have interpreted it in the best possible way.

Last Saturday, we did just that. We gathered with many of Heather's friends and family and celebrated the joyful, fun filled life she had led. Although we were all so very sad to have lost Heather, we were also happy to share our many stories of the times we had spent with her. I think she would have been pleased to see us all laughing at her antics!

The night before, while out at a friend's birthday party, I caught myself laughing and having fun. I felt bad, that I was out enjoying myself even though Heather had passed away only a few days prior. But, I reminded myself of something someone had passed on to me, "you need to live the life that she would want you to live." So that is what I'm going to try to do.

I'm leaving on a jet plane for a week in sunny Cuba. I'm looking forward to having some quiet time to reflect, relax and reconnect. A few mojitos and some time on the beach with my hubby are exactly what this girl needs.