Letting go of things does not mean letting go of the memories...

Seven and a half years ago, my dear friend, Wendy Sue Huntsman unexpectedly passed away.  I was devastated.  I met Wendy in 1996...not long after I moved to Utah.  We were co-workers at the University of Utah, but more importantly, she became one of my closest friends.  We shared a physical office space, and we shared many of the details of our lives.

I give Wendy full credit for forwarding me a job posting in 1997.  I applied for that job, and I still have it 14 years later.  I have had a wonderful career.  I give Wendy all of the credit for that.

Our relationship grew into a friendship outside of office hours. One of the things we loved to do was make handmade holiday cards.  We bought rubber stamps and hundreds of dollars in supplies to support our craft habit.  We would hole up at Wendy's kitchen table ALL DAY.  Seriously,  I remember one time when we sent her husband, Doug, out for lunch AND dinner so that we didn't have to move.  We got up only to eat and go to the bathroom.  We had SO.MUCH.FUN....and so many great memories.

We started creating "card worthy" holidays...like St. Patrick's Day and 4th of July just because we loved making cards so much.

When I left the U in 1998, we still continued to craft. We joined the big league crafters and went to stamp conventions in Las Vegas!  We'd fly down on Southwest, stay in a crappy hotel and buy lots of stuff to support our habit of stamping.

I never realized how much I cherished Wendy's friendship until she passed.  Her death hit me quite hard.  There were many times after her passing that I wanted to pick up the phone and tell her something.  It was tough realizing that she wasn't there.  So, I took to just talking out loud to her.  I believe that our spirits leave our bodies and exist still.  I believe that our bodies will some day be resurrected and reunited with our spirits.  It made sense to me that Wendy was out there somewhere.  So, I just started talking to her.  That really helped.

I haven't made holiday cards since Wendy's passing.  I felt that it wouldn't be the same without her, and I didn't want to betray such a wonderful memory that I have with her.  That was "our thing."  How could I ever do that activity with someone else.

I've held on to my stamps for all of these years.  Every once in a while, the kids pull them out and do something with them, but they clearly don't have the passion for the craft (or obsession) that I once had.

A few weeks ago, I was with a co-worker who, I found, loves to craft AND does some rubber stamping.  I knew when we had our conversation that it was finally time.  I went through my stamps today, and I sent about 20 of them off to her.  I felt like, for the first time, I could part with them because someone would love and appreciate them.  I didn't give all of them away; I still have quite a stash.  I couldn't quite part with the ones that still had some tender memories attached.  I told myself that I would "try" to make Christmas cards this year. (I have NO idea how I will accomplish that unless I start this weekend...in JULY.) But I told myself I would try to jump back on the wagon.

Giving away my stamps is not giving away my memories of Wendy.  If anything, it is passing along the good times and joys that we had so others can make their own memories.

I love you, Wend!  I'll see you on the flip side!