Another November 1st.
Many good things have happened in my life on numerous November firsts. There’s something about this day. But there is one thing that wasn’t good.
It was 5ish on that Tuesday evening, November 1st, ten years ago…a whole decade has gone by. I was just arriving home from work and still in my car in the driveway when I received a call from my bestie, Chelle. Only it wasn’t her on the other end. It was her husband, Keith.
Michelle is gone.
What??
Michelle is gone. She died today.
Keith continued to tell me about the day and all that happened.
I sat there in disbelief. Then I cried. Hard. How could this be? She was here just one week ago for the baby shower for my first grandbaby who was due in a couple of weeks. Michelle was expecting her first grandbaby in April. We had a tendency to share all our firsts together.
My six kids were all able to be at the baby shower. Since Michelle was going to be here, two of my kids rearranged their work schedules to be present. She lived 3 and a half hours from us so they rarely got to see her. My kids grew up with Chelle and loved her like a second mom. I believe that God had a hand in that weekend.
One week later, she was gone.
It’s funny how we think that things will always be the same. Maybe it is our heart, not our mind, that does all the rationalization. We believe that everything we plan will happen just as it should. Monday will be the beginning of another workweek. We will have another birthday. That there will always be another conversation or a text sent. There will be another time to let a loved know how we feel about them. We will always have a chance to say goodbye.
None of those are absolutes.
Life makes no promises. And promises made are not always kept.
Chelle and I had so much fun together. In this life, we were soulmates. Yes, it’s okay to be soulmates with a bestie. We absolutely were. Does that mean we agreed on everything? Absolutely not. Sometimes we needed quiet periods during our disagreements to think. But we knew what made each other tick. She was the words to my melody. We often walked through life as a single being. Her inhale was my exhale. My laughter was hers. Her pain was mine. She was strength to my weakness. And always vise-versa. Our friendship was a precious gift.
When she was just a little girl dancing through her yard, singing the name Andrea, simply because she loved the name, a little girl in another state bearing that name, was destined to be her friend. My family eventually moved from our state to hers, guided by the sweet song of that little girl.
Soulmates.
We had many laughs and good times. Our life was key lime pie good. I remember when she surprised me at her lake cottage with KeKe, a key lime cream liqueur. Key lime pie in a bottle. Could life get any better? We laughed all night long.
I’ve learned so much through the last several years. Mostly, take nothing for granted. Make sure every person in your circle knows, at any given time, exactly what they mean to you. Don’t let there be any doubt. That is the only comfort I have in the passing of Chelle. We knew what we meant to each other. We were solid. Still I miss that girl with all my heart. She was a mere 54 years old with so much life yet to discover.
Even though there will come a time of pain, life is still worth making it Key lime pie good.
♥️
Andi
