About Saying Goodbye

Hola everyone!

Hope you have had a very nice week so far.  Mine has been a very sad and difficult one.  My best friend just passed away... She had metastatic Colon Cancer, which spread to her lungs and liver.  She was only 43 years old and the mother of two wonderful children.

Our last picture together ~ Summer 2014

Pinky and I (as we lovingly called her), had been friends since High School.  We were inseparable.  Wherever you saw one, you would see the shadow of the other one.  Wow, such great memories!

Pinky as Cleopatra, Halloween Party ~ 1989

There were many things shared throught the years.  Over 25 years of memories!  And although life separated us for a bit, our friendship never died.  When we got reunited many years later, it was as if we had never been apart.

Christmas at my house ~ 2008 (3 months after my Kidney Removal)

Hanging out ~ 2009

She loved life.  She loved her friends.  She loved her family, and specially her children.  It has been very difficult for me these past days.  I miss my friend!

Her obituary read like this: "Isabel Cristina (Pinky to her family and to those very close to her), was an extraordinary 43 years young woman and a hard working dedicated teacher, always in search of knowledge. She completed 2 Master Degrees (Education and School Management), and a PHD(c) in Higher Education. With her special sense of humor, she always kept everyone smiling.  Devoted mother of 2 outstanding kids, that made her very proud every day. Loving and selfless daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, niece and friend. She was one of those special Shooting Stars that "live" in the universe, brightening many souls on Earth. Like the destiny of some stars, called Red stars, her life ended with a great burst of light that was seen by many, near and far. This left an enormous hole in our lives. But as it happens in the universe, that "Astronomical Hole" will be for eternity, filled with Pinky's positive energy...A loving and tender soul that in many ways touched our lives and that in a new way, will be with us forever. This is how we will all remember Pinky."

Yes... I will remember my friend forever.  It broke my heart that I wasn't able to be in her funeral.  It was held in Florida and when I searched, the plane tickets were extremely expensive from Puerto Rico to Orlando.  So, I sent her some flowers and did the best next thing: a symbolic memorial, at the beach with some dear friends of ours:

I am so grateful to have had her as a friend.  I even dedicated her an LO I made about friendship.  I sent her many gifts these past couple of years she had lived in Florida.  Her parents moved her to Florida after she got really sick.

I am so grateful for the many hours she spent in the hospital with my dad; she never failed to visit him whenever he was hospitalized.    She would watch him sleep for hours if needed... he always scolded her for not waking him up... We cried together over the phone when my dad passed away; she was in so much pain! She loved him as one of her own.   

On January 2, a couple of weeks before her death, she posted this message to my father on Facebook.  

In hindsight, it sounds like a goodbye to all of us... she mentioned each one of us by name.  She was more than a friend to us.  She was family.

Goodbye my friend, my sister!