This is an extremely personal post, but I wanted to share with you this morning.
For several years, hubby and I would make a trip to Indiana to visit with my best friend and her husband for a week. This was always such a fun vacation. Just spending time with the person who really “got” me made me very happy. Before she got sick, she was an early riser, and I remember waking up with two dogs piling into the bed with hubby and me, and being handed a cup of coffee. My friend and I always drank from cups with little faces on them. There were four different colors (the cup in the picture is really a darker blue than it shows) and each one had a different expression.
My friend developed breast cancer several years ago, and she had surgery, chemo, and radiation. She beat the cancer, but her health was never good after that. She was tired all the time. The last couple of times I went to Indiana, all we did was sit and play computer games together. But we both loved doing it, and we were TOGETHER.
In 2011, she fell and broke her wrist, which wasn’t a HUGE deal. But shortly after that, she started having short spells of passing out. When she went to her doctor after a longer spell, she was immediately taken to the emergency room. It turned out she had blood clots in both lungs. I remember talking to her on the phone on a Friday evening. She told me they were going to move her to a bigger hospital. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, May 1, 2011, I got a call from her husband. She had passed away.
A while after her death, I was invited to go to Indiana with her mother and sister to go through her things. The three of us, along with her husband, went through everything, and it was kind of cathartic. It brought back fond memories, and we all found things we had given her. We all took the things we wanted, things to treasure and remember her by. I was so thrilled when her husband offered me the cups we had drunk from all those years. They were our special cups.
Anyway, that’s the story behind the cups, plus a lot of other rambling I felt the need to do. What brought this all on was that I decided to drink coffee out of the blue one this morning. As the coffee poured into the cup, a flood of tears came from my eyes. After 3 1/2 years, the grief is still raw. I have these little bouts of tears from time to time. And I let it happen. I rarely cry anymore, but I allow tears for this. I remember her kindness mixed with her sarcasm. I remember her corny sense of humor and her infectious laugh. I loved her fiercely.
lauralynnelliott.com 
I’m sorry you’re feeling this loss anew today, Lauralynn. Losing your best friend isn’t something you get over. I hope you drank that cup and indulged in some memories today. Wishing you peace and the joy you know she wanted for you.
Thanks, J.R. Sometimes I imagine her looking down and making fun of some stupid thing I’ve done. Or smacking me for crying. She was so sarcastic, yet so kind. We understood each other. We had been friends for 36 years. There are lots of good memories!
:HUGS:
Thank you, Kait. ❤
There was a perfect reason why I gave those to you; you were the only person on earth that could enjoy and appreciate them. Yes, I miss her still to this day; especially when I’m down, she knew how to kick my butt, and make things better. There are lots of things that will never be the same but I’ll always remember those weeks and all the fun we had. I appreciate that you’ve kept me in your circle and close to you. Some day I hope we’ll all be together again and that will be a party. Peace, hope to see you soon.
She was good at kicking butt, wasnt she? And if course you’re still in the circle! I’ll see you soon!
What a touching story! Grief stays with us; tears come less often, but the do come from time to time. We always feel part of us is missing when someone we loves leaves this physical life. Thanks for sharing your story.
I don’t cry as often, but it does hit me hard from time to time. It definitely feels like a part of me is missing. Thanks for stopping by to comment!
That cup is a lovely and personal way to connect with your friend and remember her. It’s good to cry sometimes.
I used the pink cup yesterday. 🙂 Those cups are precious.
What a lovely story, Lauralynn. I’m so glad you were gifted those mugs as they are so meaningful to you and your friend. Thank you for sharing their story with us. Big hugs to you as you make your way through the holidays. It’s hard to do without those we love. But I’m sure your friend is with you every time you pour a beverage into that mug set.
I miss her, Jess, but I have such good memories. I love the mugs. I also have a box of her jewelry that I take out and go through sometimes.
That brought tears in my eyes. It reminded me of the time my mother died, and I went through her pictures and letters over the year to create a scrapbook to remember her by. What’s weird is that I can never remember the exact date in January she died no matter how many times my husband and sister remind me. The same is true with my dad. My brain has blocked those dates off. Instead of a cup, I have one of their shirts that I keep in my closet but never wear. I created a scrapbook of my dad before he died because after my grandmother died (shortly after my mom), I was able to sort through all of his childhood stuff. I only cry when I dream about them or hear a song they used to play when I was a kid.
I think the tangible things you keep to remember our loved ones is wonderful. That cup is so cute. It sounds like that cup matched her personality. 🙂
So you’ve lost both your mother and your father? I lost my dad a couple of years ago. But the loss of my best friend has been the worst loss for me so far. I really need to start wearing some of her jewelry (some I actually made for her). She would have wanted me to wear it.