It's been a while since my last post, no excuses, just glad to be back.
Today I'm thinking about all the great things that are written about people AFTER they pass on
...after they leave this earth
...after they've lived their life.
and
I wonder.
Did they know the impact they made?
Did they know how much they were admired?
Did they know how much they were loved?
I really would love to start a outpouring chain of letters written to moms from daughters, sons to dads, sisters to sisters, friends to teachers, teachers to students, children to grandparents, you get the picture.
So today I sit, after reading a beautiful tribute to a college student who lost his life last week at UVA after falling 40 feet from a University building (he just wanted to take in the view of the beautiful campus) and I'm at a loss for words. Well not really, but I just wonder if this young man knew the impact he had on his fellow friends, teachers and world?
Today I will begin my chain of letters, simply titled SAY IT NOW!
Today I will focus on my friend Kim. I choose Kim because today I was at her house helping her paint her bathroom in preparation for her home listing. She is moving. Soon. Her husband Whitney has been commuting to Richmond from Greene county for over 3 years now and before that he commuted to Culpeper for years. This is over an hr commute, one way, and he just doesn't want to do it any longer. So as I think about losing my dear friend, to distance, I can't help but reflect on our past 10 years.
I met Kim March 2001, soon after moving into our current home in Preddy Creek. Kim was hosting a play date for the neighborhood kids and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to meet some Moms and hopefully develop some lasting friendships. Never in a million years did I think that I would meet one of my best friends in the world! I only had Abby and Elizabeth at the time, they were 5 and 3. Kim just had Landon, he was 2. I was pregnant at this first play date with Becca and realized later just how hard it was for Kim to hear of my pregnancy as she had just miscarried. Prayers were answered when she became pregnant again a few months later with Drew.
I found it very unbelievable how much Kim and I had in common.
1. We are the same age
2. We both have ANN as our middle names
3. Our husbands both have ALLEN as their middle names
4. We both have moms named LINDA
5. We both had lived in Pennsylvania
6. Kim and Whitney share the same anniversary as my parents, September 2
7. Kim has one sister and one brother, I do as well
8. Kim doesn't have any family living closeby, I do not either
9. We joked that both our firstborns are named ABBY - my daughter and her cat
10. We both lived in the Fairfax area early in our marriages at the same time
Is this not such a coincidence? Or is it fate? Or is the Lord bringing 2 ladies together to share life knowing that we needed eachother so very much. I like to think it was God's special planning!
Over the years Kim has become not only a dear friend but another Mom to my girls, an encourager, a listener,
We've been through a lifetime together in the past years.
We've been through births of our babies and deaths of our grandparents.
We've been through potty training and preschool,
Playdates and swim parties
Field trips and soccer fields
Girl scouts and youth group
Carpools and cookouts
Lifegroups and birthdays
Pedicures and surgeries
Injuries and awards
Shopping and baking
Cooking and crafts
Visits from family and holiday fun
First days of school and last days of summer
Neighborhood walks and 4 mile runs
Bat bites and tick bites
Fractured skulls, stiches, sprained ankles and breast cancer
Giggles and sketches and backyard fun
Broken bones and broken hearts
Puppies and dog watching, cat watching too
Trampoline jumping, music recitals, church plays
Performances, dances and everything in between...
We've laughed, we've cried, we've lived.
I think the world of you Kim Hoffacker. You are a treasure of a friend. You're kind, you always are thinking of the other person, you constantly offer a helping hand, you're always interested in my life and others too. You're beautiful, talented (extraordinary talent), and always cheerful, full of excitement. I am a better person having you for my friend. 10 years seem like such a small portion of our lives but these past 10 have molded me into the person I am today, knowing that I had you for my friend, standing right beside me every step of the way. It will be difficult to say the least living life without you right up the street from me.
But....we will be visiting, Richmond is a mere hour away, a short distance between close friends!
Love you Kim!!!
