Over the last couple of months, I’ve seen people repost the question “How did we meet” on Facebook. It really got me thinking and I was able to break the answer it into three groups – “At some forgettable social event”; “at a very specific point in time” or “I have no idea”. The first one isn’t important but the second and third are.
There are very few people I remember meeting quite as vividly as when I met Eric – Lindsay’s brother. I can tell you the time of day, where we were, what I was wearing and the reason for our fortuitous meeting. What I didn’t realize was that when you become part of Eric’s inner circle, you become family. And that family extends to cousins, aunts and most importantly, sisters and brothers-in-law.
That brings me to the third category – the people who you have no idea when you first met. The ones you don’t remember what they said or where or when but you just knew there was something special about them and you wanted them to become part of your life. Lindsay falls into that category. Heck – the affection I had for her and Chris even prompted me to volunteer to help them pack up and move from the Lake House (and carry their belongings up a monster flight of steps to street level!) And although I wasn’t able to spend as much time with Lindsay as I would have liked, I heard stories through Eric and saw pictures of her, Chris and the kids on Facebook – just the most precious family, taking simple pleasure in just being a family.
A couple of weeks before Lindsay passed, I was having a bad day and took to Facebook to express my frustration with whatever, probably minor issue was causing my angst. The first person to respond – from her hospital bed – was Lindsay stating, “Who do you need me to beat up?” In that moment her focus was not her own pain but rather the fact that a friend was struggling. Her words were just perfect – support; humor; comfort – knowing exactly the right thing to say. And that really sums up Lindsay – she enriched our lives by making us all feel special and loved. She saw and acknowledged us. And she made us instinctively want to become better people.
To everyone who knew Lindsay – we were so fortunate to have known and loved her – she will be so incredibly missed.