Remembering Julie

It's been over a year, and I haven't heard from her.  I met her in a trivia-playing chat room, and we became friends over time.  One day, we had a conversation and she told me she'd been to the doctor, and was diagnosed with stage iv metastatic breast cancer.   I was floored.  Surprised.  Shocked even.  Her and I are the same age.  And we both work retail.  We had a lot in common.

We talked often about her situation, learned a lot about things that could be done, and things that couldn't be done.  She was strong and positive, and her mantra became FUCK CANCER.  She launched into chemo treatments, and they were rough.  She kept it light and didn't say how really bad it was, and I can't pretend to imagine I knew what it was like.

So tonight, a friend and I are lighting a candle out of concern, out of remembrance, for the friend who came into our lives.  Julie, wherever you are, we still think of you, talk of you fondly.  I miss you, and hope you are well.

"Suddenly, quietly, you realize that from this moment forth 

you will no longer walk through this life alone.  

Like a new sun this awareness arises within you, 

freeing you from fear, opening your life.  

It is the beginning of love, 

and the end of all that came before. 

~Robert Frost