One of our last semesters we had our Social Work Research class together. It was a requirement of this class to do a group research project together. Leslie and I managed to convince the professor to let us work as a team and not have anyone else in our group. We had both been burned on group projects before, but knew we could depend on each other to get through this tough assignment. This was a Spring semester class, started in January, ended in May. We decided to do our research project on "What Do People Define as a Sex?" This was during the time of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, where Bill said he did not have sexual relations with that woman! We made our research proposal and after it was accepted by our professor, we created a survey to give out to students in some of our social work classes and the Human Sexuality class. Then disaster struck for me in April, just as we were getting ready to distribute our survey. . .I fell on the steps of my apartment and broke both bones in my ankle. I had to have surgery, physical therapy, and had to stay off my leg for a month. Leslie and I came up with a plan where she got all the survey's done at school and I was able to enter the data at home. She collected assignments from my other classes and brought them to me. If it weren't for Leslie I would have lost that semester and had to start it over.
We both earned our Bachelors of Arts, I went on with my career as a juvenile probation officer, and Leslie stayed in school and completed her Master's in Social Work. She always worked for agencies that helped kids, most of that time spent working with abused and neglected children. We would run into each other at the court house, Quik Trip, and other random places during the next several years. It always brightened my day when I would see her, but we never seemed to have enough time to catch up though. The last time I saw Leslie was March 2014, at Winter Jam. We chatted for a while and even managed to friend each other on Facebook. It was great being able to have a connection with her again, I even found out her daughter was a friend of mine from church, talk about God having His hand over our lives!
I began my Better U journey with the American Heart Association in March also. At times when I made a discouraging post on Facebook, Leslie would make a comment that would help me get back on track:
"You are a survivor, how many times did you make that after the ankle break. And walking hurt but you walked. Honey this is nothing compare to the life you have already survived and this will make you live life happier with less pain. Give it a week. Then another week then another week. As they say this too shall pass."
"Claudia, while you exercise begin to pray short prayers with the pace of your breathing. As you allow Him to take control your breathing will become more relaxed and your prayers will become longer. Just like a woman in labor find a focal point and relax into His arms. You are amazing and You are a Princess of the King. Your mark is always ahead of you and not behind you."
"Oh no you don't Little Missy. These words are no longer in your vocabulary. Try these "I can do ALL things in Christ." You are in Christ so venture on."
"Just keep moving. When you dont go to the gym walk a little faster throughout your day. Do not be disappointed in yourself it will defeat you before your day begins. The challenge is not the gym, the challenge is your self messages - start changing how you speak to yourself.so you can start hearing the words spoken to you by people who truly know how amazing your heart is, Listen to God he calls You a Temple and Beautiful Daughter."
"...I promise there will be a day you will be able to breathe in deeply again. As the brick of grief will lighten. Just remember grief lasts a lifetime, but always hurts worse in the beginning. Our society made up the three to five day rule for grief and somehow we mistakenly began to believe something was wrong with us if we could not get over the lose of a Significant person in our lives, so we began to call it depression. If you own your grief allow yourself to mourn and cry. Go through all five steps, which will take longer than the five days allotted by your job, you will begin to heal and celebrate the life lost...And I promise one day ten years from now you will pick up the phone to call mom, to ask her a question or share good news; then laugh, shed a small tear because you will have to figure it out on your own, and celebrate how happy she made you."
I was excited when Leslie let me know she was planning on doing the Race for Freedom 5K in September, which would be my first 5K walk. I remember looking for her in the huge crowd, but not finding her. She commented later that she wasn't feeling well, so wasn't able to make it. In October, Leslie was diagnosed with cancer and was going to start treatment. In November, even though she was in pain and sick, she took the time to send me encouraging comments . . .and something in her words made me start thinking I could become a runner.
January 17, 2015, Leslie went home to be with Jesus. I miss her so much - though we didn't see each other much, I loved her and I know she loved me. I miss her encouraging words, I miss running into her around town, and getting a hug. When I heard she had passed away I knew that my Start 2 Finish 10K training and my race on May 17th would be dedicated to Leslie. Without her I would never have dreamed I could even do this. Leslie's family played the song, The Wind Beneath My Wings, at her memorial service. For me Leslie is the Wind Beneath My Feet - when I run I pray, when I feel like giving up I hear her voice telling me that I'm strong and I can't give up. Leslie was my hero in so many ways. I wanted so much to be able to spend more time with her, but that wasn't in the plan. I miss my friend and can't wait to see her again.
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Rest with Jesus, Leslie |
