The hurt still lingers a year later...

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since you left us. Your number is still in my phone, and I still can't bring myself to remove it.

The painting that we playfully argued over before I finally bought it has yet to be hung. I'm afraid that the moment it goes up, I'll forget the fun we had debating whose wall it would look better on. You could have outbid me and snatched it from right under my nose, but you were so excited at the prospect of me building a collection, I always knew you'd let me have it. It's a beautifully bold painting that we discussed over coffee at Portable Feast at the table near the staircase as Sharon darted back and forth nearby to her customers.

There are still so many memories, so vibrant, so full of life, just like you were, that linger. We knew each other less than a year, but you were ambassador, mayor, welcoming committee, and chief architect all rolled into one incredible, beautiful soul.

You saw a girl, who despite her bubbly demeanor and wide circle of friends, was looking for a community to call her own, to plant some roots, and find a home that was more than just four walls and roof. You took me in with your warm smile and contagious laugh, and you showed me exactly what community meant. It didn't matter that you didn't know too much about me, or my faults, you introduced me to others like we had been friends for the last five years.

You taught so many the true meaning of community, both on the physical and cerebral levels. You loved and gave of yourself without question to everyone, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight. Your greatest gift was the example that you set, living every day to it's fullest without regrets and always remembering that in the end, we're all human and life is too short not to live like it's your last day on earth. Did you know something we didn't?

Even after you left, the community remains bonded together in grief, in celebration of our progress and growth, and deep friendships welded together that will withstand the test of time. We're there, and while you're not, your legacy remains, twisted in sorrow and love. We couldn't have made it without you, and no matter where we find ourselves in the future, I still miss you, friend.

(photo credit: Patrick T. Power)