A friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you just the same.

I met my friend, Amy, my freshman year in college at the University of Kansas. My dad was helping me move into my dorm room and noticed a man he had gone to KU with moving his daughter into the same floor of the dorm. My dad said to me, you need to make a point of introducing yourself to Max Deterding’s daughter. I brushed him off at the time, more consumed with moving and not excited at my dad trying to make friends for me. Little did I know that her dad was having the same conversation with her.

We did eventually meet. And WOW, was she ever fun. She had come from a tiny town in Kansas and it was like she had been shot out of a cannon. She had been coming to KU for football and basketball games with her family her whole life and knew her way around. Which gave her a head start on where to go and what to do on any given day or night as the case might be. With this head start and her “zest for life” personality, there was never a dull moment with her around.

At the same time, she rarely missed a class. Not only was she book smart but intelligent in ways beyond her 18 years. She was who you went to with a problem or a question. If she didn’t know the answer, she knew someone who would. Yes, these are the days before google. She WAS our google.

We remained friends after our freshman year. We lived in different sororities and other living arrangements throughout our college years, but the friendship was sealed. My boyfriend and I introduced her to her future husband. Eventually, she married Mark and I married Rob and we spent much of our young married lives doing things as couples.

Through the years, we have supported each other through all that life has thrown our way. There have been some amazing highs and some tragic lows. Amy and Mark were the first friends to visit us each time we moved to a new city. We had the trip of a lifetime to Italy together several years ago. It was always easy with them. The kind of friends who know you through thick and thin. At some point, Amy started calling us forever friends. It was sort of a joke at the time given our ages, but it also rang true. We have been there for each other for so many years now.

Amy died recently after a valiant fight against brain cancer. She leaves behind family and friends that adore her and a brand new granddaughter that she just missed getting to meet. The very definition that life isn’t fair.

Today is her birthday and I am missing my forever friend. I’ll miss our phone chats and visits to each other. I’ll miss her laughter and wicked sense of humor. This forever friendship is now completely different. And feels so very one-sided. I hope to honor you by living life with zest. To love deeply, laugh often and support the loved ones you left behind. I love you forever, friend.