Tribute to a Friend

It's always hard to say goodbye to folks, but when it is goodbye forever it is especially difficult. This weekend, I attended the funeral of Sonja Hix in Texarkana.

Her death was a shock and very tragic in the events that led to it.

Sonja and I were friends. We were not the closest of friends, like the kind that you call daily over your little ups and downs in life, but we were good friends. She was one of those you could go for days without seeing and then pick right up in the conversation and laughter as if it were just yesterday. She was the best kind of friend because she was true to herself and true to her friends, and even her enemies (which I doubt she had any).

I met Sonja through her son and my son while they were in school together. I had known her daughter Hannah through work with Key Club and Partners Club at Southside, where I taught. I came to know Ryan even more when he became a member of my board for Partners Club. Sonja was always supportive and eager to help, bringing pots of Rotel dip or whatever we needed. We really became close at the start of when her husband left and filed for divorce. We were hosting the Christmas Lockin when she told me the news. We were joined after that time by an understanding of what it feels like to be a single parents and scared to death all the time.

After retiring from her counseling job last year, she retired and moved to Texarkana to be near old friends and family where she grew up. She had bought a house and finally met a guy that sounds like he could have been a keeper.

Sonja and a friend went on a cruise together and she fell ill. She insisted her friend continue with the cruise while she was sent back to Cozumel and then flown to Miami. She never survived. It is unclear exactly what happened, but whatever the issue was, she is gone. There will be a hole in the world with her presence missing. She made us all better when we were around her. Her laughter and smile was infectious. Her forgiving nature was to be admired.

Friends are:

• someone that makes you a better person when you are with them
• someone that you can be yourself with and not have to filter your thoughts...they will love you anyway.
• the ones that can tell how you are doing just by looking at you...not requiring you to explain
• someone that would come help you in the middle of the night if you needed them
• someone that encourages you to reach out and go for something you may be reluctant to try
• someone that can just give you a hug without asking what it wrong
• people that you don't have to see daily to have a close connection
• people that you can almost enjoy their successes as much as they do
• people that you stay connected with, through email, cell phones, blogs or even the annual Christmas card. You just don't forget them.
• the ones that you miss when you find yourself having to delete their numbers from your cell phone because they will no longer be on the other end when you call.