While I was at Laurie’s, she gave me a beautiful necklace. It had a round outer circle with the word "Courage" on it, and a separate pink ribbon attached in the middle.

Fast forward to the next morning. It was a tough missing-my-mom-morning. Dad was cooking pancakes. I tied his tie for him. (He always tells me that the last time he went to a navy reunion,some guy there tied his tie for him beautifully, and then later admitted he worked for a mortuary and always tied the dead guys’ ties!)

I dressed in a variety of Easter egg colors topping it off with a beautiful pink hat and matching pink shoes. (The joy of having a spring wardrobe!) My brothers later informed me that my church hat looked like a mixture of something out of “The Sound of Music,” the mafia, and a fuzzy pink bunny rabbit. They were just happy that I didn't wear the lederhosen that they were sure had been on the rack next to the hat in the store.

The church was quite full. Reverend Kathy did a beautiful job, and the kids behaved very well. Of course, Joshie brought his own container of Tic Tac’s to keep him occupied, and we heard them hit the floor more than once. The Women’s League had donated the alter flowers in my mother’s memory for Easter, which was announced in the bulletin. As the church service was ending, my family members all went in different directions. Dad went to check on a stained glass window, and the boys dashed to the altar to pick some of the flowers to take home.

I was asked to take Nora and Joshie to the back atrium, and wait for everyone there. With Richard, the organist, playing a Toccata, it was a scene of confusion and pandemonium. It was almost like what I imagine being in the eye of a tornado is like. Everything was swirling around me.

I had Joshie in my arms and was holding Nora’s hand as I headed out the side aisle. Out of the crowd, I saw my old friend Cindy walking towards me. I was caught completely off guard.

Cindy is one of my all-time favorite friends, whom I met on one of my first days at college. Cindy is also someone I haven't seen for five years because she decided one day that she simply no longer wanted to be my friend. She just wasn't willing to tell me why. After spending far, far too much time and money in therapy on this issue, I am reasonably sure that it had nothing to do with me.

Anyway, apparently Cindy has read in the bulletin about my mother. She said she was sincerely sorry about Mom. The world was still swirling around me.

I was holding the kids, while having this very intense conversation. I knew that I had come a long way personally because I felt grounded and in the moment – even though I had been taken complete by surprise.

I realized that Cindy didn't know about my cancer, and that I needed to tell her. I couldn't get the words “breast cancer” out of my mouth (I'm positive it was because I had Nora attached to me also, and she is such a sponge at age 11 that I try to be careful of what I say in front of her).

Just as Cindy looked like she was going to run away, I motioned for her to come closer. Then, I pointed to the necklace Laurie had given me, and said "this year."

She said she’d wondered where my hair had gone. She promised to be in touch, and I asked her three times, “Really?" Three times she said yes.

The lesson was not lost on her. She kept saying "talk about a resurrection." She was sobbing as she walked out the front door of the church.

It looks like God set up my own personal resurrection in church on Easter. How amazing was that?

I decided that I would get back at my brothers for teasing me at dinner. I brought every single hat I own to dinner, and every 15 minutes, I went inside and put on a different hat. At one point, Joshie looked at me, rolled his eyes and simply said, "You're weird."

I haven't heard from Cindy yet... but I'm hoping she does whatever is best for her. Until I hear from her, I will still be missing my friend.

~~~~~

Sue Eigenbrodt is known worldwide as TooFUNsue.

While always living up to her name, Sue is just a quintessential big kid.

Too much hair, too many adventures, too many kids ... too much fun.

And, too many stories... She is also a past President of Nawbo Ventura.