Saturday, October 13, 2012

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody . . .

you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible
~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally

Dearest Stace,
In the four years since I first met you we've become quite good friends and have traveled through many stages of life together.  We were first introduced as roommates and you were terrified of us (well, mostly Marg).  Remember the time that you asked if we wanted you to put our milk away for us, and Marg answered "No, we like to leave it out so it loses its Vitamin B" and you just stared at us like we were crazy and then literally ran out of the room?  That was pretty hilarious. 

Then we actually became good friends with you and somehow we convinced you to run a mile every hour for twenty four hours with us.  It was truly a memorable 24 hours, especially those wee hours in the morning where we were all goofy from lack of sleep . . . "Wait, is it a man-eating olive or a man eating olive?"  It was definitely a bonding experience.  
 
 The year ended and we were no longer roommates but we became even better friends.  I will always be so grateful that you were there that fall semester.  How we convinced you to run a mile every hour for twelve hours again, I will never know, but it was another epic bonding experience.  You and I are the ONLY ones who can say that we ran a mile every hour for twelve hours AND every hour for twenty-four hours.
 Then you left to serve a mission and I supported you faithfully . . . . and helped you to stay focused and undistracted on your mission . . . . ha ha
 
We had some more awesome adventures when you got home.  I'm glad you finally got to come to St George with us, it was way fun doing everything with you, especially terrifying you out of your mind at RedCliffs :)


Now you're off to a new adventure and I couldn't be happier for you.  You're an amazing person with so much talent and Travis is very lucky to have you.  I don't know Travis as well as I'd like, but he seems like an outstanding young man and I think he'll make you very happy.  Congratulations, Champion of the World!




Monday, October 8, 2012

A Tribute

One year ago my cousin, Jared, passed away and I wrote this post as a tribute to him.  But I just couldn't post it then - it was just too close to home and I felt too inadequate and I just couldn't capture all of what he was.  No matter how hard I tried he came out sounding like a saint and in reality he was far from it - and that's precisely what I loved about him.  He had such personality and charisma and he was basically hilarious.  I'm posting this now because even though it is incomplete and imperfect, it still needs to be posted because he deserves to be remembered.   




One of the most vibrant people I have ever known passed away on Thursday. I feel inadequate writing this tribute because there were many that knew Jared better than I did. He was the type of person who made friendships easily but kept them for life. I am writing this tribute anyway, though, because I want to keep alive that memory of him, because I want to share what an amazing person he was so that he can continue to be an example to me and others, and because there is a hole in my heart and I have to try and fill it somehow.




Jared was a friend to all who knew him - his charm was impossible to resist. He had a big smile that was never far from his face and which you couldn't help but return. When he wasn't smiling, he was laughing. Jared could find humor in even the worst of situations and when he laughed his loud, hearty laugh, you couldn't help but laugh along. Jared truly loved those around him and he was an excellent example of love and friendship.







Jared loved life. To him, life was an adventure and he enjoyed it to its fullest. He packed more adventures into his 26 years of life than most people pack into their whole lives.  As a flight attendant, he traveled the world and met all sorts of people. He also loved Disneyworld and worked there for a time. He loved being scared and was always game for haunted ANYTHING - he was a true October child. He was happiest when he was out and about, doing things with the people he loved.





Jared was always optimistic, even when life dealt him a rough hand. He was diagnosed with leukemia, underwent a bone marrow transplant, and was hopitalized many times, yet through it all he stayed cheerful and optimistic. For many of us there was never a doubt that he would overcome everything, because he was so optimistic that anything less did not seem to be an option. Even in his darkest moments, he was often thinking of others. Many a friend or family member received a thoughtful "happy birthday" or sympathetic text from him while he himself was in the hospital.


Jared, we still love and miss you.  We always will.  But I know that you're out there having a blast on your next adventure.  I can't wait to hear all about it one day.