I had a dream last night about a good friend of mine.
When I got my first full-time, public school teaching job, I met a woman. Her name was Anita. She was a special education teacher and she reached those kids like no one else. She was no-nonsense and tough, but those kids knew she loved them, and they worked for her.
Anita was like a second mother to me. She was more than helpful as I worked my way through my first year of teaching. She mentored me in so many different ways. Much of the teacher that I became was because of Anita. Much of the adult that I became was because of Anita.
Anita was all about others. She cared deeply for her friends and loved her husband and two children more fiercely than you could imagine. She would do anything for anyone. The phrase, “She’d give you the shirt off her back” certainly applied to Anita.
Anita came to the hospital when Monkey Girl was born. She was one of my first friends to hold my baby. She actually gave us the baby name book from which we chose Monkey Girl’s name. I still have that book with her inscription on the inside cover.
Anita’s biggest fear was that she would develop cancer someday. And one day, she did.
She fought bravely for a very, very long time.
With her chemo pack on, she came to the hospital to see Monkey in the Middle when he was born. She held him and reveled in our joy. It was the last time I saw Anita.
She passed away two months later. I have never seen calling hours or a funeral more packed. The line went on forever and the grief was real.
I still miss Anita all the time. I miss her smile, her laugh. I miss her no-nonsense approach to life. She was warm and wonderful and everything that we should all strive to be.
So, today, I’m thinking about Anita and thanking my lucky stars that I had her in my life, for as brief a time as I did. My life was definitely better for having known her.
If you have someone you are missing today, think about what their best qualities were. Try to embody those qualities yourself today. What better way to honor those we have loved and lost than to let them live on through you.
