Four Years

Brad Riek

Four years ago, my best friend Brad died after a long battle with melanoma. I learned a lot from his life, and even more from the way he carried himself through the long battle he fought. I've also realized lately how much I've learned since his death, and how grateful I am for it.

Four years ago, I felt like the whole world just stopped. Nothing felt good or right, and I didn't see any "brighter days" on the horizon. Fortunately, the intervening years have shown me that I was wrong. Let's think about all that has happened in the four years since we lost our best friend / brother / son / fiance...

• Matt and Rene are raising the beautiful little girl, Jordan, that Brad was so excited about. She delights us every day and they also now have a second daughter, Avery. I see so much of Brad in Matt that it's impossible to not then see it in both girls, too.
• Matt has opened his own law practice, and is going to be great there.
• Rene has been promoted at work, to a position where she will excel and affect the lives of thousands of children and their families.
• Erin has bought a new home and found someone who makes her happy. She's back at work, doing things that she enjoys.
• Lori has found her Skippy and adopted more dogs that she can love and provide for.
• Chris Blake has moved to California and worked on a TV show for a major network.
• Ryan bought a house, sold a house, got promoted, got married, and bought a new house. He and Michelle are settling into a great community where they'll be really happy.
• Edna continues to tutor, spoil her grandkids, take care of her mom, and works on her house.
• I bought a house, adopted 2 dogs to match my 2 cats, and am doing a lot of exciting things at work.
• Many more of our friends have moved, gotten married, are having kids, and much more.

So what all this has finally shown me, and I couldn't see it for SO long, is that LIFE GOES ON. We will never forget Brad and our other friends that go before us, because the memories of them just enhances everything that comes after. Many of these things wouldn't have happened if we hadn't had Brad in our lives, so for that we will always be grateful.

That's not to say that there aren't days where it's rough, or where you feel the pangs that remind you the person is gone. With the right mindset, though, those may be fewer and farther between. Instead of being sad that they're gone, we can try to be happy that we had them at all and that they enhanced our lives in so many ways.

Tonight, we will get together and remember Brad. We won't sit and mope, but instead will enjoy each other's company and know that it's exactly what he would have wanted us to do. Here's to you, Buddy, the best friend any of us could ever ask for. We'll always love you and miss you, but the strength of good friends and family will make every day better than the one before it.

-CP