Cathy's Beautiful Letter to Me

Cathy wrote this beautiful letter to me and asked me to post it for all of you to see.  It brought tears to my eyes!

March 7, 2010

Dear Linda,

How can I thank you for all that you have done for me since my accident?   You have always been there for me and my family, through thick and thin, good times and bad times, and every moment in between since the day we met in December 1980.   We have been friends now for almost 30 years!  Unbelievable.  I remember when you and Ira were our new friends.  Having the pleasure of helping welcome Renee and Eliza into the world was such a wonderful experience.  We became your “family” during that period of time you all lived here in Fort Worth.  Renee and Eliza are Texans, so their roots will always be from Texas.  Remember the quote, “Friends are the family you choose for yourselves.”  (I still have the t-shirt you made for me in my closet!)  Linda, you, Ira, Renee, Philip, Eliza, Rich, and of course, little Asher are our family.  Look how far we have come! 

You really stepped up to the plate the minute you found out about my horrible accident in Cabo in September.  I wished that I had been able to visit with you and see you when you first came.  Unfortunately, I had no idea of what had happened due to my condition and medications, etc.  I couldn’t believe you were with me, and I didn’t even know it.  Thank you so much for coming to help comfort Lenny and my family.  Though I wasn’t “there,” mentally, I know your presence and strength made a huge difference in helping them cope with the situation. 

The blog that you started, Cathy’s Climb to Recovery, was such a blessing for Lenny, Steven, Lisa, Kaje, Bari, but mostly for me.  As I woke up and was able to understand, Steven read the blog to me every day which gave me continued hope and strength.  Every day, I would ask him to please read me what you wrote.  And going back and reading the entire thing has helped me to better understand the seriousness of the situation and helped me to see just how far I have progressed since that awful day in September.  I was occasionally disappointed if you skipped a day as I looked forward to hearing your comforting words each day.  I think the entire community of Fort Worth, Steven’s friends in Austin, our friends and family in other cities, and even people I barely knew read the blog and kept up with my progress through it.  In such a serious accident and long recovery period, people hesitate calling and sometimes don’t really know what to do.  But so many people told me they followed the blog on a regular basis; in fact, I am still hearing from some that they wondered if there would be any more entries on the blog.  They miss your kind words, strength, and positive outlook.  I do too!  Many times, I heard from others how lucky I was to have a friend like you, doing such a wonderful thing by writing and keeping up the blog. 

You and Ira’s visit in December meant so much to me!   I couldn’t wait to actually get to see you this time.  We had a few wonderful days together.  Thank God, I was doing so well that we could have a great visit.  I can’t wait to see you again, hopefully soon.

Many of us in a lifetime do not find a friendship such as ours.  I have felt blessed and extremely fortunate to have met you and to have been such special friends to each other.  I am blessed that God spared me and has given me the chance to continue living my life.  Lenny and I look forward to sharing many more good times with you and Ira and the rest of your family in the years to come.  When you, Ira, Renee, and newborn Eliza left Fort Worth so many years ago, I was so afraid that our friendship wouldn’t stand the test of time.  But Linda, you promised me that we would always be friends.  And you were right!!   Your many moves over the years hasn’t changed anything, except bringing us closer.  Family is family no matter what, and that is how we feel about you!   The Basses and Herzfelds have a special bond which will last a lifetime. 

Linda, you are so special to me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for always being my friend, always being just a phone call away, and always having words of comfort, strength, and love for me, especially when I needed them the most.  I thank God that you came into my life, as my life would have never been the same if you hadn’t touched it. 

I love you.

Love, 

Cathy