June Gloom

On Friday evening the Chef and I found out that a friend of ours had lost her battle with cancer.  Melanoma to be exact.  It was a brief, but brutal battle and she was very young.  He had just seen her a week prior when they met while out gathering their mail.  The exchange was short, but she said things weren't going well and she wished not to talk about it, but that he looked very good and she was happy about that.  Even as I'm typing this, I have a huge lump in my throat.

This news is sitting heavily in the air around us.  Not just because we have lost someone we knew, but because she was young and vibrant and we saw her often - and now we won't see her again - the reminder will be constant.  She was a peaceful, friendly, jovial, kind heart.  A lover of nature and people and life. And she will be dearly missed. Somehow I just feel the need to say something about her.  I hope you won't mind.  As much as this blog is supposed to be about fashion, food and fun it's also, inevitably, going to be about life. 

So, it seemed almost fitting that Saturday was the epitome of June gloom.  Despite the fact that the fog rolled in and never left our beach community temperatures remained rather warm.  In the early afternoon we decided to go to a neighboring dog beach and have a quiet break.

As we sat in the sand and watched the dogs racing and chasing and jumping around with their owners and each other, I couldn't help but think about our friend and her loss of life and life in general.  After awhile some interesting thoughts/lessons kept popping into my mind.

No matter how badly you might want something to happen right now you're going to have to learn to wait.  Oh, and while you're waiting it doesn't hurt to have your safety gear on...you never know what's around the next corner.

Sometimes you'll be ahead and sometimes you'll fall behind, but as long as you're running in a pair you're in good shape.

Conflict with others is inevitably going to arise.  Don't be too prideful to take guidance from a trusted companion.

It could turn an almost enemy into a good friend. Or three.

Life's too short not to live at peace with others.  It's also not nearly as fun if you're trying to live it all on your own.

When something horrible is happening to your neighbor, remember it could just as easily be happening to you.  Get involved.  Speak up.  Lend a hand.(see that oil rig in the distance?  what a nightmare off  the Gulf Coast right now...that could have happened right in our own backyard)

There's always room in your life for a new friend.  Everyone needs a scratch behind the ear now and then.

When you're feeling down, sometimes it helps to get out and be around other people. 

Everyone's going through something and, even if we don't know it, we're all in this together.  Take a deep breath.

When having a sad day remember to be kind to yourself.  Wear your softest, cutest, most favorite clothes.  Sometimes it's the simplest things that can brighten your spirits.

Oh, and don't forget the chocolate.  In this case, Godiva dark chocolate covered strawberries and a smattering of other individual handmade concoctions.

Enjoy your life.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.