*sigh*

I have to say that Traci's funeral was wonderful. I am incredibly pissed off at myself for not coming to Chicago to see her when I could hug her, see her smile and hold her hand. But I shall get over it. It's just that from now on, when the opportunity presents it's self, I'll be sure to take it.

Nicole from our message board wrote a lovely letter and Beth read it. It shared the relationship that we had with her. Then people started coming up to talk about Traci. They were stories of fun and laughter, just like Traci. There were others who were there who had never met her, except on message boards and gamming sites. There was her boss who talked about her avility to make the most mundane tasks fun and interesting. And afterwards, people were cming up to Beth comlpimenting her and the group of women.

And it made me think.

We hold a special relationship. We've known each other for 6 years or so. That's a lot of time. And even though it's mostly through technology, it's still a valid relationship. The internet, for all it's problems, has also created wonderful things. And this was a true testiment to that.

So now everyone goes back to their lives, a little sad, a little changed. We settle in and are more aware of the fragile life. We understand that the friendships are forever and that we need to feed them by any means to keep them alive. And we remember.

I keep thinking things like "What World Shimmy Do?" or WWSD? *giggle* She'd like that. I also keep thinking of the play Our Town and how the woman looks back to when she was 12, after she has passed away. I sense a Shimmy on my shoulder at times. Pushing, giggling, instigating and supporting me.