You articulated yourself very well and I feel every single word that you said…I feel it deep within my soul. To say that I’m sorry doesn’t even attempt to convey how bad it feels. I know this. It is surreal and devastating.

It brought me back to last December when I lost my Mother to Cervical and Liver cancer. December 19, 2010.

She was only 56 years old and I am 29, and it’s been and continues to be insanely difficult everytime I think that she will not be hear for my wedding and my children. She raised me on her own and being her only child, I was her everything and in turn she was and is my everything.

She’s always been the motivation behind my entrepreneurial attitude. She’s the reason my I fought to build a very successful fitness business…and I just signed a lease on a 1600 sq ft facility in Montclair, NJ, to go along with an already established fitness business here in Essex County. I wish she could see it, as I know you wish Ed could see your wedding and life moments.

My Mom’s cancer took only 10 weeks to send her into eternal rest. I got a call on October 23, 2010 that she’d been rushed to the hospital with severe blood clots…and from then it was doctor after doctor and power of attorney for her medically and financially…all while being in that room trying to get her home. As you said, she was in pain every single day for 10 weeks and fought like a warrior, until eventually succumbing to the horrid nonsense that cancer is.

I would give anything to get on GSP south to go sit by her side, as I know you would with Ed.

I’ve written and constantly pushed myself to rid this negative energy build-up..then it starts building again. We just had a memorial for my Mom yesterday, and it was insanely emotional.

My prayers are with you and your family.

Best,
Mike Smith

here is a site that I had dedicated to my Mom, and it’s a small way that I continue to (try) to honor her: http://www.InHonorOfMyMom.com

Well done. What an brilliant tribute to a truly Full Strength man!

As I read your words, having lost my father in an all too familiar fashion, a few weeks after his 62nd b-day, I find myself thinking how Ed must have cherished having such a great man as you in his life.

What a powerful reminder that life is anything but fair, that every moment counts, that the only thing you really ever leave is your impact on those near you. So many lessons, so little time.

Thank you for sharing so boldly. I’m inspired and awake–which is what it’s all about. Now, as I sit here on a Sunday morning with my son and daughter, enjoying a cup of coffee and we build pillow forts (yeah, they’re still very young), I am reminded that it’s time to get off this machine and get back to the moment, to life.

Interesting, it was a year after my father’s passing that I was able to first share my thoughts… I share that post here. Not as rich or vibrant as yours in many ways, but certainly familiar…

http://www.fullstrengthlife.com/a-very-strange-year/

One thing I’ve come to know for sure in the years since my loss is that we never really lose them. We lose elements we cherish but the person Ed was to you lives inside you, clearly, and he’s always there to guide and support. You’ll feel it in amazing new ways every day.

To Your Life @ Full Strength,

Shawn

Please don’t hold on to any regrets for words not spoken near the end of a beautiful life.

Instead bask in memories of all the happiness you enjoyed together. How blessed you both were, to have such a deep friendship!

It is clear to Ed that you loved him. All the great moments and experiences you had together are enduring testaments of that love, that bond. Rejoice in that.

Michael