Monday, September 7, 2009

a quick trip


Friday night we flew to Orange County and by Saturday evening we were back home. It was a quick trip to attend the funeral of one of my dearest BYU-days friends. Heather fought a truly courageous three year battle against cancer. She had a fixed determination to survive 'one more day' to be with her sweet husband and two young children for as long as she possibly could.

Good friends become your family during college, and Heather was, to me, another sister. Her example of optimism, happiness and honesty are just a few traits that contributed to a wonderful friendship. Together we 'suffered' through being single and graduating still single from BYU. Numerous trips to Hogi Yogi (for the Yogi, of course) were made to console our frustrations. :-)

(Obviously taken before the days of digital!)

This past week I've thought of hundreds of memories that we share: hiking at Sundance, being annoyed at roommates, hitting the gym, a roadtrip to Manti...there are so many. I have been blessed by her friendship and those memories are a treasure.

"Let us relish life as we live it,
find joy in the journey,
and share our love with friends and family.
One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

Thomas S. Monson

Heather liked that quote. She is the sweetest reminder for me right now that life is short and that in even the most difficult situations, you can always choose to love and choose happiness. Her smile and happy energy were talked about over and over again at the memorial. I will miss her, as will so many others, but I feel so blessed that our paths crossed in this life.

On an unrelated note, as we were at the cemetary I looked to the north and this is what we saw.
Yes, there really is a huge fire in LA right now. I can't imagine what that must be like to deal with.

7 comments:

The Smith Fam in Kansas said...

Dianna - I am sorry for your loss...it really is a reminder how short our time is here and we never know what tomorrow will bring. Love the quote, thanks for sharing.

Love ya,
Tam

Summer's World said...

Beautiful post for a beautiful person. I'm glad you were able to go and show support. On a lighter note, I hope I wasn't the roomie you were referring to! ; )
Love,
Sum

Patti said...

Diana, I am sorry for the loss of a good friend.and the quote was perfect. sometimes we do get caught up in the less important things of life,and I know myself i have had many a pity party.I am over coming that and realizing that life is to short and blessings are to great to feel sorry for myself.

Ian, Jessica, Halle, Camdyn, and Quinn! said...

Hey nate, good to hear from ya, I didn't know you had a blog. I love those pictures a couple down of the waterfall. beautiful. the actions I use are the totally rad actions, both sets.

Brittany Boyce said...

This is so sad! I had no idea Dianna, I'm really sorry to hear about this. Thank you for that quote, I know it will become one of my new favorites!

Allison Scherer said...

Dine,
I'm sorry about Heather. I remember what good friends you were. Thanks for helping me keep perspective.

Allison

L McD said...

Dianna, so sorry to hear about your friend. She is beautiful and sounds like she was inside as well. What a great quote. Thanks.