OK- so cancer. This POS disease that doesn't care who it attacks, which family members it affects for life, which friends's memories will be all they hold onto after someone runs out of time.
My friend ran out of time this week and it's honestly the most inexplicable event I've ever witnessed. I went almost 34 years without losing a friend to cancer, so in the grand scheme of things- I've been spared. My first experience with supporting a friend with cancer couldn't have gone better. Nicole was done with treatment within a year and ran her first marathon this month. She kicked cancer's butt. We all were spared.
But my friend Keasha, no offense to Nicole, but Keasha is the epitome of strength and determination. I met her when I joined the Charlotte Hornets Honeybees Dance Team. She was such a great role model. And in her passing I'm learning that Keasha was exactly that to so many other girls.
Today is probably my saddest day yet in absorbing all of this. I can't quite get past the anger to be grateful of the impact this will eventually have on me. My prayer is that it will be revealed to me over to coming days and months. The funny thing about it is that when I began this entry I felt so much negativity, heck just look at the title entry again. Shortly after I began typing aggressively, a song called "I Was Here" came on the TV and as much as it made me cry, I did find some comfort in it. I had never heard it before, even though it's by Beyonce'. Something about Keasha always reminded me of Beyonce. When I was a Honeybee in 2000-2001, Destiny's Child was the IT group of the time. We had a dance to Bugaboo (Keasha's favorite) which we appropriately set to Independent Women the second half of the season (Per Keasha's request :) as soon as that song was released. And when the Hornets made the playoffs, our player intro music was changed to Survivor, also by Destiny's Child. Sorry for the long explanation but it was fitting that this song was sung by Beyonce'.
Below are two links- one to an article about Keasha and her husband Chris. The other is a link to the song "I Was Here" by Beyonce. One thing I will always remember about Keasha is her laugh, it was loud and sincere. She lived her life like that- very present and anyone who met her knew she took in every moment. And she loved it. I will miss her forever.
Article from Atlanta Tastemakers Magazine
http://tastemakermag.com/former-nfl-linebacker-chris-draft-loses-his-wife-to-cancer/
Beyonce' I Was Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guHq1tjTi0o
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