A difficult farewell

We lost a long time friend this morning after a whirlwind battle with cancer.  April was a close friend of over 35 years and a neighbor of ours in New Hampshire for 20 years.  But that doesn't even come close to explaining it.  We were friends that shared our lives, from building our own houses, to raising our children together.  She helped us when Jan's water broke with our first child in the woods between our houses and we helped her struggle with the loss of her first husband in an auto accident.  We tried to help as she put her life on track as a single mom and went back to school to complete her nurse's training, so she could survive and raise her daughter, Cassie.  We watched her success and employment as a nurse that specialized in neonatal care, and admired her strength as she dealt with tiny babies that needed extraordinary care.  It was through her work in the hospital that she met Ray, a superb OB-GYN doctor, who she ended up falling in love with and marrying, and someone we now call one of our closest friends.

And what times we had, sailboat trips in the Caribbean, cocktail hours where we discussed every subject known to man, gourmet dinners that we would create at each other's houses, hikes and bike rides, sightseeing all over this country as we traveled together for years, us in our motorhome and they in theirs, holiday celebrations, birthdays for us and our kids, we included them in most of our family gatherings and they included us in theirs, in fact, we were way more than friends we were family.  When my mother was ill with cancer, we could always count on April and Ray to help us with questions, concerns, and give us support when things got really bad.

She was an avid athlete, always exercising, hiking, biking, kayaking, participating in yoga and pilates, and absolutely loved the outdoors.  She also loved people and participated in many activities, clubs, and of course her church.  

After her successful initial cancer treatment, she was able to enjoy a wonderful summer back up in New England that she loved so much.  She was able to spend several weeks with her daughter and her grandchildren on the beach, see and visit with her mom.  We were so happy that we were able to spend a fantastic long 4th of July weekend with her and Ray, and part of their family, Mark and Ginger.  She was able to get up to Vermont to see other members of her family, and even participate in a Dragon Boat Race in the fight against cancer. 

So this morning she lost her battle, and Jan and I wanted to get away for a bit, do something she would have loved, to quietly remember and cherish the time we spent together, so up in the mountains we went to a quiet gorgeous lake high in the Rockies.  We hiked in in cloudy skies, which opened into sunshine as we reached the lake.  Jan and I sat, mostly lost in our own thoughts and memories, but laughed together as we remembered good and funny times together, a couple of bad times, and mostly felt thankful to have known and loved April over all the years.  Farewell.