Friends

Please forgive me, but this is a post mostly for me to acknowledge an incredible friend that I have. It's mostly for my benefit as it tells our “story.”

There are “friends”... and then there are “FRIENDS.” I have been lucky enough to have one of those “FRIENDS.” My friend Suzanne. We met at church about 10 years ago. The pastor's sermon that day had to do with going out of your way to help people in need. Little did we know how that would impact us so soon...

After introducing ourselves to each other, we hit it off and decided to meet up later that night for dinner at a restaurant near their house. At the time, neither Greg or I had cell phones (we were very resistant to them at the time). Ryan, Suzanne's husband, gave us his cell number almost as an afterthought just in case we needed to touch base beforehand. As Greg and I were driving on the freeway to the restaurant, we were involved in a car accident caused by a vehicle that drove away. We rear-ended the car in front of us and were rear-ended by the car behind us. Not great for a Honda CRX!

Once the police arrived and helped us all get off to the side of the road, they said our car was driveable and we could leave once all the paperwork was taken care of. However, we were now late to meet our new friends and had no way to contact them. One of the other drivers had a cell phone and allowed us to use it so Greg could call Ryan and let him know what happened. They immediately left the restaurant where they had been waiting for us, drove to meet us at the gas station just off the exit where we were, and then followed us home to make sure our car made it there safely. We ended up going to eat at a restaurant near our house. We were very glad they were able to assist us in our time of need! We had no idea it would be the same day as our pastor's sermon and the same day we met our new friends.

Suzanne and I became closer friends over the next several years, becoming especially close during my pregnancy with Kyler. Her son is about 17 months older than Kyler and she was so helpful in giving me advice about a lot of baby-related things.

Then when I was pregnant with Caden and we didn't know if he would live or not, she was right by my side, supporting me when I thought I couldn't get through the stress. She and her family came to visit us multiple times while Caden was in the hospital at Stanford (it's about a three-hour drive from Sacramento, factoring in traffic).

And then last year Suzanne's beautiful baby girl, Gabriella, died about an hour after being born. She had Trisomy 13, which is a chromosome defect which is incompatible with life. I tried to be there as much as humanly possible for Suzanne, Ryan and their two children, Brayden & Ellie to help them get through this difficult pregnancy and devastating loss. In fact, I was honored to be there at the hospital with them when Gabriella was born and am one of just a few people who got to meet her and hold her.

These life circumstances brought me and Suzanne much closer together and I consider her to be my best friend. I can't imagine my life without her part of it. Her husband, Ryan, and Greg were also best buddies. They are both cyclists and went on rides together all the time. They were a support to each other during tough times, and enjoy hanging out and having fun. Their son, Brayden, is Kyler's best friend and it has been really hard to think about moving away from this family as our lives are very intertwined.

I am so sad to move away from my best friend. But I also know that we will always be friends and that distance will not take that away from us. She is a rare treasure and is genuine, loving and compassionate. It is hard to find that these days. Thank you for being such an incredible friend, Suzanne! I love you more than words can express!

I love you Suzanne!

Best buddies, Greg & Ryan

One of the greatest families to touch our lives!