The loss of a friend....

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

~ George Eliot

 

 In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.

 ~John Churton Collins

 

 A friend is someone who can sing you the song of your heart when you've forgotten it.

~ Unknown

 

 When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.

 ~Edgar Watson Howe

 

 Care is the ingredient that keeps true friendships alive despite separation, distance, or time. Care gives latitude to another person and gets you past the dislikes and annoyances. Quite simply, caring sustains love.

~Sara Paddison

 

On Monday evening, one of my dear and best friends died. Toni Fitzgerald has been an important part of my life for over 18 years. I first met her as a consultant in Mary Kay. My girls can even remember the day we went to her "open house" to celebrate her winning her first Mary Kay VIP car! Sara and Sydney were just little girls....maybe 3 years old....and they remember Keith and Toni taking care of getting cake and setting them a little table to eat at. I guess that was the day I simply fell in love with Keith and Toni. They loved and cared for my children and that was all it took for me to see their great heart.

 

Through the years Toni became a Sales Director and we shared meetings, training seminars, and so many laughs and conversations. I remember the first time she admitted to me that I intimidated her! I was so shocked to hear that I intimidated anyone much less HER.....and she laughed and said she completely understood cause when she got to know me, she couldn't imagine being intimidated by me either!! We became fast friends from that day forward.

 

Toni was the one who was there for me when the challenges of starting Extreme Dreams was in its infancy. I would have trashed the whole thing many times had it not been for her constant and firm belief in God's dream....and my part in it. The most powerful gift she gave me was a word from God that He gave her in the shower in May of 1999....to understand the difference between Hope and Expectation. I spent a full day focusing on what God had to say in the Bible....and it changed everything. Toni has been a part of this Extreme Dream from the beginning.....and will ALWAYS be a part of it.

 

Toni and her husband moved to Oklahoma shortly after that....and we remained close through phone calls and visits....she left me with one of my favorite CDs as a parting gift...."Touched by an Angel". I listen to it so often....and think of her every time for she was God's angel in my life. Now she is singing with those very angels in His Presence. It was in Oklahoma that the cancer returned to Toni's body.....in 1999. And it was my turn to hold her up and encourage her. She fought a valiant fight....and we would share our battles and encourage one another......I will miss her beautiful and strong voice.

 

Toni is no longer here physically to talk to, to write to, or to see......I miss her.....and will until the day I see her again. I hope that each of you have a friend like Toni......whose presence is so powerful in your life that it will always be there even when they are not.

 

Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends and run home to your family when things get rough; Better a nearby friend than a distant family.

~Proverbs 27:10 (The Message)

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
www.exdevents.com

kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/