"Goodbye" is not just a word; it is a journey. It is said that life throws us curves when we least expect it. I suppose that's true. Sometimes those curves can be wonderful but sometimes they are devastating. One thing I have learned is that it is better not to know what the future holds. If we knew the things we were going to have to endure in life, most of us would shrink within the confines of our homes or even our own souls. Not knowing what tomorrow holds frees us to live completely for today. It gives us license to embrace the world around us because tomorrow it may all be gone. When we allow ourselves to live with open arms, we create opportunities to receive more than we can ever dream. Yes, there will be pain, but in time the pain fades and leaves beautiful memories of amazing experiences we didn't recognize as we were actually living them. Annette and I initially appeared to be the most unlikely pair, but we became inseparable. When cancer crashed into our world, we faced it together. Although her body eventually gave in to the disease, her spirit conquered it completely. Cancer did not win, she won! Ours was a beautiful journey that only made our goodbye that much more exquisite. It was painfully wonderful to have walked such a journey with such an amazing woman. I would have never dreamed that saying "goodbye" could be one of life's greatest and richest blessings, but we lived it first-hand. Here is our story... Walking into Annette's house, my eyes were immediately drawn to the hospital bed in the middle of the living room where she had spent the last two months of her life. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful - so dead. It was the moment I had feared; the one I had dreamed about but somehow hoped I would never have to face. Yet here I was, standing with my husband's arms around me, staring into the lifeless face of the dearest friend I had ever had. Michael has a complete aversion to dead bodies, but he had such love and respect for Annette that he set his discomfort aside in order to see her one last time. He loved her for the way in which she had treated me for so many years and how the pure, divine love she gave to me had made me a better person. She loved him because she saw how completely he loved and cared for me above all else. There were so many memories flooding my mind as I looked at her. When Michael left the room, I just kept staring at her and thinking, "What am I supposed to do now? How did such a beautiful journey lead to this? How am I supposed to say goodbye?"