Sunday, March 17, 2013

a happy ending to a sad weekend....


On Saturday, my amazing friend, Katie passed away from a very short struggle with gastric cancer.  The past few months have truly been a blur as we, her friends have been trying to navigate thru the murky waters of possibly having to live life without her.  Something that none of us ever imagined we would be facing. She always seemed invincible to us and was definitely our ring leader to some pretty fun and crazy times.  I spent Saturday afternoon at her house with her husband and daughters, she had a few setbacks a week or so ago, where we knew that the end was very near.We sat around her kitchen table drinking coffee and telling Katie stories - she was the Lucille Ball of our life - the I Love Lucy version.  Never a dull moment and usually whatever went on, ended with alot of laughter.  She was very feisty, opinionated, yet would go to the ends of the earth to make sure everyone was having a great time.  When we had friends come out for the weekends, she would organize outings for us all and take us to some very cool out of the way places that a normal tourist would never find.  My favorite times with her were when we were just having coffee, taking a walk or having our monthly dinners.  When I left her on Saturday afternoon, I knew in my heart that would be the last time I saw her as she had been in a deep sleep for several days.  Later that night, I got the call from her daughter that she was gone.  My heart broke in that instant.

In the wee hours of the morning, I posted a message on my Facebook to let our friends know that she was gone.  My niece read it and texted me at 3 am.  She was pregnant and although she wasn't due for another week, I begged her to please have this baby soon as I needed some happy instead of all of this sadness.  Her text said that she was going to have a happy ending for me this weekend as her labor had begun. I was awake the rest of the night.  As my friends woke up and read my Facebook status an amazing thing happened - Stories, photos, video's of all of our fun times with Katie starting appearing on everyone's pages and we became a community sharing our grief together with a lot of  love and laughter. So many people with various stories of how their lives have been forever changed because of her friendship - it was such a wonderful and beautiful thing to be a part of.

The happy ending to this story is that this evening, my niece gave birth to another baby boy. Mason is a big brother to little Hudson.  It has been a surreal weekend witnessing the true circle of life.  I am completely drained but feel very peaceful that my friend, Katie is no longer in any pain and extremely happy for my niece, Christy, her husband Kevin and their adorable little boys.  Below is a photo of Mason and Hudson side by side.  Mason is now 2 years old, tell me if you don't think these two are lookalikes.  Mason is on the left and Hudson on the right.





Katie's family is doing amazingly well.  Her 21 year old daughter is
my hero, watching how lovingly she cared for her mother these past
few months - such a beautiful thing!  If you would do me a favor
and please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, I would
truly appreciate your kindness.  Thank you so much!


Hold your loved ones close and enjoy each moment!
xxoo






  

11 comments:

  1. Oh Cathi, I'm really sad and happy for you at the same time. I'm so sorry to read about your friend passing away, my thoughts go out to you and her family. A birth the same weekend is a pretty big and happy event and I can really understand how drained you must feel now. Hope you get some time to rest. Love and hugs to you xo

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  2. What a beautiful tribute of remembrance and a life well lived to your friend Katie. The words you've spoken, the thoughts you've shared speak to more than friendship, they speak of love.

    When one life departs and a new one enters I truly believe there is spirit involved...and the blessings of life continue full circle.

    Sending love and warm thoughts to you Cathi xo

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  3. Oh, Cathi, I am so heartbroken. I feel like I woke up from a bad dream that doesn't end. I can only imagine how Katie's family and friends closer to her such as you must feel. She was always there with a smile and some tough love if you needed it. :-) And those two little boys are so so cute! But I think she should have named the new one Dixon...so it could be...wait for it...Mason/Dixon. :-0 {BIG HUG} -Tracy

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  4. Tracy - I feel the same way - I wish we could all wake up and realize it really was just a bad dream. She was great with that tough love and as you know, I was the recipient of it in the early years of our friendship. Haha. Just know that everyone will be ok - TC and girls are doing very well considering. I can't wait to meet little Hudson (not Dixon) it's going to be do much fun watching them play together. I love you endlessly! Thank you so much for that photo you put on my FB of me and Katie walking - wasn't that a great day! xxoo

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  5. I am so sorry to read of your loss Cathi, I know you've always said how important your girlfriends & your friendships are for you, I cannot imagine how hard it must be to lose a friend. Please know I am thinking of you.

    Those precious little boys are so lovely - and yes, very alike!! Congratulations.

    You've had a tough year for sure Cathi, take care Xx

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  6. I feel sort of speechless. Reading about the 'circle of life' that you experienced in such a whirlwind fashion is so moving and heartbreaking all at once. I had a lump in my throat as I read along. I will pray for her family, especially her amazing daughter because i have a son that's close in age. And it breaks my heart to think of him without a Mom. Bless her. And congratulations to your niece she's got such beautiful boys. Oh I'm so happy the baby came when he did. Blessings to you Cathi, I know it's an emotional time. Keep us posted.
    Leslie (Gwen Moss)

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  7. Oh Cathi ~ I read your post this morning and tried to comment on my phone but here I am now. I am so sorry to hear about your friend's passing. I know how worried you have been about her and how close you were. Sending a hug hug your way. With that said what a wonderful surprise ~ a new baby. The circle of life is a sad yet wonderful thing. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers a little more than usual this week. xoxo

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  8. Sending my prayers. My heart goes out to you right now. Thanks for the encouragement. Lots of love.

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  9. So sorry for your loss. I can't imagine the pain. Happy though for a bit of sunshine with the birth of such a sweet baby boy.

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  10. My thoughts and prayers are with Katie's family. Thinking of you too Cathi. xoxo

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  11. Oh Cathi ....... such a sad time for you and of course, Katies family and friends. So lovely though to have your friends and family posting old photographs and helping each other. They are the things that help you through these dark times.
    ......... and, there is nothing like a new life coming into the world to bring a smile and to help you through the grief.
    There are no words to help you through this sad time but, you do have the support around you and so many happy memories of your dear friend.
    Much love Cathi. XXXX

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Thanks for the smile - pass it along! xxoo

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