My letter to Aimee, read by Mr.Wonderful on Saturday July, 16 2011
Aimee
How
do I put into words all that you and our friendship has meant to me? At Mom’s
group you were this beautiful, quiet, sweet girl who I thought would never be
friends with someone such as myself, who doesn’t even know the definition of
the word, quiet. We did eventually get the chance to hang out and I remember
being nervous that I wouldn’t be able to keep the conversation going… we ended
up sitting on my back deck and talking for three hours! It was a really great
time and it was the catalyst to one of the most beautiful friendships I have
ever had. This is the public vs. private quality of yours and it is the one I
love the most… in public you are smiley, sweet and very quiet, in private you
are open, honest and quite funny. Oh, the sweetness and the smiles are always
around but it’s your wit, sarcasm, strength and determination that I most
admire and only those who are really close to you ever get to see you in that
light.
Aimee,
you call it like it is, you don’t mince words and you say what you mean. Like
last year when I went a little nutso with the hair coloring kit and ended up
with black hair. You took one look at me and said “I love you way to much to
tell you that your hair looks good! You need to wear a hat until you can get it
fixed.” Then you smiled that wonderful smile of yours, shook your head and
laughed at me! Mind you, we were sitting in church when this conversation took
place, so you pretty much sat there for the next hour and half, glancing at me,
shaking your head and chuckling. The sermon seemed to last FOREVER that day!!
The
seven of us or Olson2 as we have called ourselves has been the perfect
combination of friendships. We have shared Holidays, Birthdays and Friday Nite
Pizza Nites. In fact for the most part, there hasn’t been a day or two in the
last 2 1/2 years that I haven’t seen your beautiful
face. Its been a week now and I miss it soo much already.
I have asked you several times in the
last few years how you were holding up and your response to me was always the
same. “God has given me great grace to walk through this, I have peace and I
trust Him.”
Personally I was really trusting Him
for an earthly healing, one where you and I would spend our futures traveling
around and telling people about your miraculous cancer survival story. When
God’s plan and mine turned out to be different, I realized that I get to be the
one who tells the story of your healing. The complete and whole kind of healing
that can only be found in heaven. Selfishly, I have to admit I was way more in
favor of the earthly healing and one day when I can stop being mad that I
didn’t get my way, I will tell your story and I will tell people about and His
grace and peace that were given to you in abundance when you were here.
The only time I ever heard you cry
about your situation was that Thursday evening about 6 weeks ago. You were in Portland so we were
talking on the phone. You didn’t cry when you told me what was going to happen,
you cried when you thanked me for being such a good friend to you and told me
how much you loved me. You, my dear Aimee are the precious friend, you have
taught me how to live, to love, how to be gracious, determined and strong. I
have loved every single minute of Olson2 and I am the one who is thankful and
grateful to God that He moved both our families to Coos Bay
and the same time so that we could be friends.
I will love you forever,
Tiffany
Aimee Marie Olson
July 10, 1980 – July 8, 2011
