Sometimes I find myself head down immersed in my own life when out of nowhere something happens and it causes me to pause and look up. Last week we lost a dear friend suddenly. Over the past week, I have spent an inordinate amount of time reflecting on my own life in a way I have not done for awhile.

When I think of our friend, Steve, I think of a man who was kind, generous and who acted like he was always on vacation. When we would go out to eat he always ordered one of everything that sounded good and made certain we always got dessert. When you were around Steve he made you feel loved and at at ease, it was easy to temporarily forget your worries, and feel as though everything was right in the world even when it wasn't.

I always got the impression from Steve all he needed to be happy was a good meal and his loving wife. He never felt the need to boast about himself, but the one person he was always eager to talk about was his son. I cannot think of a boy who was more loved by his parents than Brian.

In life, it is easy to find friendly people, but it is much harder to find friends. Steve and his wife will always be some of our favorite people. They will forever remain on our short list of people we want to vacation with, take to our favorite restaurants and the people who we wanted to tell our good and bad news to first. When life got us down we knew they were always in our corner. They knew our flaws and loved us in spite of them. The moment Cameron called me to tell me Steve had passed away I will forever be changed. Lynn and Steve have always been our role models, the type of couple we aspire to be. They loved life, each other and made the most of their time together. Although they did not have the perfect marriage, they were real and their love shined through even when they were driving each other crazy.

For now we are left with photos and beloved memories. The dinners where we were so engrossed in our conversation we would loose track of time, the competitive game nights, the crazy adventures we embarked on together and most cherished those times we laughed and cried together. Life is better with good friends and we are fortunate to have called Steve our friend.