She's gone. We all knew it was coming. There was no denying that she would leave us, but definitely she was gone too soon.
I will never forget the time that I first came to know Tami, the summer of the Cattleman's Ball. We had been acquaintances, but I had never really got to "know" Tami. The first night of the ball, we were wiped out, we were beat. We decided to stay and enjoy the music of 5 to Life. We danced, we laughed, we had serious moments where we talked about our kids.. we took funny pictures. She let me know how proud of me she was with the cupcake business that Katie and I had built. What an amazing person she was and a great friend.
A couple of weeks later it was our birthday. We ran into each other at The Union. We hit it off again. It wasn’t a fluke. We actually got along. It became apparent to me that somebody was trying to make us see that we were meant to be friends, something… some force out there was pushing us together. It came to be routine. If something was going on, I looked to her to see if they were doing something. We wanted to be a part of what Tami and Kendall were doing. I started to be interested in Mariah and Cutler. When Mariah graduated I was so proud to say, “hey I know that girl!” When she was hired on at Scottsbluff I cried right along with Tami. Their family started to be part of my family, and I will always be thankful for that. I will always be proud of them.
She took a genuine interest in my kids, my job, my school and my life. There are few friends who ask me about Kherington, but Kherington was always number one on Tami's list. I hope that Tami knows now that one day Kherington will be running, and not stumbling or struggling and hugging her again with that big smile. Tami, you will always, always have a special place in Kherington's heart. She took my daughter under her wing when she didn’t know me from Adam. Again, out there showing her support for my family as a true friend really would.
School started up for me in the fall, and there she was pushing me to be everything that I could be.
She knew first hand what it was like to want to get those good
grades. Her kids were doing it and she knew I could do it. She knew how hard it
was for me to say no to the nights out and to stay in and do studies, but she didn’t even ask. She would never
pressure me because she understood. Graduation is two months away, and I can’t
believe it. You’ve been with me all the
way. “Don’t Stop Believing”, right? That’s our theme song. I’ll never hear that song without thinking
of the four of us screaming that song out loud, and I know that you will be
watching over me proud, doing what is right for me and for my family. Thank you for always having faith in me and
knowing and believing that I could do it.
I will always remember you Tami, your smile, your
laugh. Your truths and your ever living
trust in me. These things give me the
strength to go on when I just want to give up.
When I do open that cupcake store, rest assured there will be a plaque
on the wall with your picture on it to remind me of your faith in our
business. You believed in us, and in me
as a person. You knew I could do it far
before I could, and now I know I can too.
I love you, very much.
It’s hard to say goodbye so I’m not going to do that… I’m going to say thank you. Thank you and don’t forget about me. I know you won’t, but be watching for me
because when I get there we are going to have so much to talk about… Gone too soon.
