Journal entry by Jennifer Barrera —
Here we all are at another Sarah milestone. Today is her birthday. Pick any other year since 1965 and December 7th would be a day that people would have been looking forward to enjoying. Sarah would have celebrated with people she loved, opening gifts, and indulging with any food or drink she wanted.
This year all that celebrating is left up to us. At some point today, everyone is encouraged to raise a glass in Sarah's honor. It could be a Jamison whiskey sour, a Cape Cod, champagne, wine, iced tea, juice, water, it doesn't really matter. The whole point is to have a moment to acknowledge our Sarah Sue! Many of us did just that. It was, as Sarah would say, the best part of my day so far.
But it was tough.
Rooney, Janie, and I made a date to FaceTime with a toast to Sarah at 11:00. Sure enough, there we were digitally clinking our glasses in celebration of a life lived with passion and strength. At the same time, we were all still in disbelief that she isn't here. She's supposed to be celebrating with us! We spent over an hour reminiscing about Sarah's quirkiness, sharing memories of happy times, crying that we have to go on without her. As Rooney put it, it's as if a light has been turned off.
After we hung up, I started thinking about all the "cheers"-ing people were doing today. Sarah would be so grateful to know how many people still made time for her today. You all know how much she hates change - I believe, she would want us to continue to include her.
But there is an emptiness inside us now. Not one that can be refilled by time spent with another person or new travels and hobbies. The very unique Sarah part of us is missing. Today, our collective "cheers" somehow makes that emptiness less dark. Toasting to Sarah brought back a lot of emotions I had stuffed into my own deep pocket, only rarely taking them out. The reality of her being gone is just too harsh.
Sarah's "best friend since they were four", Marcy, sent a link to a song that truly captures what many of us may be feeling today. I've included it below. Same song. One link is the lyrics. The other is it being sung by the hunky lead singer, that's how Sarah described him anyway.
Side note: That's how Marcy was always introduced by Sarah. Every single time. This is Marcy, my best friend since I was four!
Cheers!
Memories by Maroon 5 (Hunky Singer)
Memories by Maroon 5 lyrics
Here's to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
This year all that celebrating is left up to us. At some point today, everyone is encouraged to raise a glass in Sarah's honor. It could be a Jamison whiskey sour, a Cape Cod, champagne, wine, iced tea, juice, water, it doesn't really matter. The whole point is to have a moment to acknowledge our Sarah Sue! Many of us did just that. It was, as Sarah would say, the best part of my day so far.
But it was tough.
Rooney, Janie, and I made a date to FaceTime with a toast to Sarah at 11:00. Sure enough, there we were digitally clinking our glasses in celebration of a life lived with passion and strength. At the same time, we were all still in disbelief that she isn't here. She's supposed to be celebrating with us! We spent over an hour reminiscing about Sarah's quirkiness, sharing memories of happy times, crying that we have to go on without her. As Rooney put it, it's as if a light has been turned off.
After we hung up, I started thinking about all the "cheers"-ing people were doing today. Sarah would be so grateful to know how many people still made time for her today. You all know how much she hates change - I believe, she would want us to continue to include her.
But there is an emptiness inside us now. Not one that can be refilled by time spent with another person or new travels and hobbies. The very unique Sarah part of us is missing. Today, our collective "cheers" somehow makes that emptiness less dark. Toasting to Sarah brought back a lot of emotions I had stuffed into my own deep pocket, only rarely taking them out. The reality of her being gone is just too harsh.
Sarah's "best friend since they were four", Marcy, sent a link to a song that truly captures what many of us may be feeling today. I've included it below. Same song. One link is the lyrics. The other is it being sung by the hunky lead singer, that's how Sarah described him anyway.
Side note: That's how Marcy was always introduced by Sarah. Every single time. This is Marcy, my best friend since I was four!
Cheers!
Memories by Maroon 5 (Hunky Singer)
Memories by Maroon 5 lyrics
Here's to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
There's a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain
When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same
Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name
'Cause I can't reach out to call you, but I know I will one day, yeah
When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same
Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name
'Cause I can't reach out to call you, but I know I will one day, yeah
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, aye aye
But everything gon' be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, aye
Everybody hurts someday, aye aye
But everything gon' be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, aye
Here's to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
There's a time that I remember when I never felt so lost
When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop (ooh, yeah)
Now my heart feel like an ember and it's lighting up the dark
I'll carry these torches for ya that you know I'll never drop, yeah
When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop (ooh, yeah)
Now my heart feel like an ember and it's lighting up the dark
I'll carry these torches for ya that you know I'll never drop, yeah
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, aye aye
But everything gon' be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, aye
Everybody hurts someday, aye aye
But everything gon' be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, aye
Here's to the ones that we got (oh oh)
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through (no, no)
Toast to the ones here today (aye)
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories (aye)
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
Of everything we've been through (no, no)
Toast to the ones here today (aye)
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories (aye)
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo (ooh, yeah)
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo (ooh, yeah)
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
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