A small tribute to you, Jessi Noelle.

Yesterday was a wonderful testament of your life.   It's always been that I'm a good writer, and you're a good speaker and together we weighed one another out for things.  It should come as no surprise to you then, my dear, that I sat there absorbing those words about you like a sponge.  Graham wrote something so lovely that I doubt there was a dry eye in the room, and your family shared memories of you as a child that I couldn't help but laugh about.  Sitting there in a room full of people, it really brought to life how incredible you were.  You touched each persons life in a way that made them feel special and thus made you unforgettable.  It baffled me how many groups of people gathered, some overlapping, but most just respecting that we all loved you, we all missed you, and we all wanted to celebrate your life. 

I really miss you.   I sat with Dr. Carney, Bryan, and Kayla and we had lots of laughs about undergrad.  I laughed so hard when your mom told me that she found a half eaten sandwich from our road trip when we returned her car (So sorry!!).  That was such a great, freeing trip for both of us.  Bad break ups, victories, moves, loss, and love.  We always got to share those things.  The beauty of being an adult is although things get busy and we didn't see each other as often as we liked, we knew to call in the middle of the night we would find the same solace and compassion.   I won't ever forget that kind of love and acceptance.

Thank you for being such an inspiration for so many of us.  Thank you for letting me be a part of your life, the highs and the lows.  You're forever my wonderwall. . . . RIP sweet girl

Ps.  Can't ever hear this song and not think of you!