Jessi-Cat

When we were little, Jessica was nicknamed Jessi-Cat because she would write the first initial of her last name so close to her first. She would write JessicaT followed by one of those huge bubble periods that we loved to write in the 80's.

I met Jessica in either the third or fourth grade. The math at the moment escapes me. Her parents moved into town and she began attending my school and we became friends. My memories are random and spotty. I remember rollerskating in her driveway for hours listening to a ghetto-blaster that we used to continually play "Venus" by Bananarama. I remember her mom taking a gigantic black plastic bag to clean out her room. I remember her twisting her hair and leaving knots, much like my daughter does now, and I teased her about the similarity as an adult. I remember the day she hit a tree with her VW bug while on the way to church. I remember slumber parties, and birthday parties. My ups, my downs, her ups, her downs, our separate ways and our re-uniting friendship.

The memory we joked of the most, and which she continually teased me, was of eating dinner at her house for the first time and hearing my mother's words of being polite and eating whatever I was fed. I had never had a cold, mayonnaise and meatloaf sandwhich before. After about 8 glasses of milk to help me swallow, I was brave enough to ask if I could be done.

She made the best green bean casserole and barbequed the best garlic hamburgers. She loved candles. And what was that kick with all black dishes with Vanessa? :)

As I prepared for my marriage and Jason was stopped at the U.S. border and denied entrance from Canada, Jessica was the one I called at 2 a.m. for support and a shoulder to cry on. When I walked down the aisle I remember her sitting in the pew, smiling and saying hi, sharing in my excitement.

I remember as she prepared for her marriage to Matt thar she was so incredibly happy. And I remember conversations with her after, through many of life's events, and she remained so in love.

Jessica passed away last weekend, suddenly and MOST unexpectedly. And I miss her terribly already. Through the last few years we did not talk as often as I would have liked, but she remained a true, sincere and beloved friend. She was supportive and always willing to share a hug. She was funny, and always shared a laugh. And she was real. She was real in God's love and as a sister in Christ.

Throughout my adult life 'phases' I have tried to rely on knowing that even though life takes fantastic friends to different places all over the world, and even though life gets so incredibly busy and we never get as much relationship time as we would like, I have tried to find some solace in knowing that someday we will share a seat before the Lord and have all the time in the world to talk, laugh, and praise Jesus together. What more could one want from a friendship? Jessica was one of those friends. And for the rest of my God-allowed time here on this earth I will have a hole, for there were some memories I could only recall with Jessica. Grieving is truly for those of us left behind, because the irony is that she is perfectly healed, happy, and loved before the God who created her and knew of this day before she had been born. But in the end I look forward to seeing her laugh, giving her a hug, and eternally sharing a seat with her at the table of our Lord. And until then I will miss her.