You Will Be Missed.

You know the type of person I mean. Really, it's inevitable that people like this have shaped who we have become - people who occupy special recesses in our minds. And our hearts. Not necessarily thought of on a daily basis, but people who have made a real, tangible difference in our lives and helped form our identities. They may, or may not be, related - it doesn't really matter - but they taught us something: how to hold our heads high, how to not sweat the small stuff. And chances are, they weren't told enough of the influence they had. Maybe we didn't even recognize it at the time. Not to reduce life to a series of Hallmark moments, but the guidance, support and impact were all there and can be precisely delineated.

I found out the other day that one of the very few people I would place in that category had passed away unexpectedly. We had lost touch over the last couple of years, but I still found myself thinking of her every once in a while and remembering her calm words in times of struggle. I remembered her patience as she endured trying times and attempted to apply it to my own. All the while, keeping a smile on my face. And now, I find myself wishing I hadn't completely lost touch with her. And I wish I had made more of an effort to let her know how her guidance had helped me. How her little chuckle had eased times of stress and her friendship had helped me endure an environment I no longer desired to be a part of. But isn't it usually the case that we think of it too late?

Life is precious, and it is short; and I take this as her final lesson. Complaining of stomach pains, she took some time off work and visited a doctor. A week later, she succumbed to liver cancer.

You will be missed - and I am thankful for having known you. Thank you, too, to the others who have made me who I am, and who continue to make me who I will become.