Heaven has a new angel.

She fought a brave battle, non Hodginkin's lymphoma, breast cancer, total body radiation and chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant,  graft verses host disease, broken bones from the disease, and blindness.  She no longer has to fight. 

I know we all have that one friend that you can say you have had forever and ever, the one that you lose contact with, but when you touch base again there is no getting reacquainted it is like putting a comfortable pair of slippers.  That was Shelley.

Wild, crazy, domestic, caring, give ya the shirt off your back type of girl.  We met when we were 15 and 16 (she was the older and wiser(?)) at the Ritz Supper Club.  She showed me the ropes and we became friends that summer, unseparable.  Our folks would tease us that they did not know  they had twins.  She was the oldest in her family of 3 kids and I the youngest of 2 kids, both having just brothers.  I was the city kid.  She was the farm kid. We were both daddy's girl.  Life became the best of both worlds that summer.

We have come and gone our own ways and reconnected over the years.  Each time we were back together like comfortable old shoes.  Through our college days we partied like rockstars. With the birth of my son, she became the crazy friend that every child wished they had.  She was the bread butter when my son graduated and made sandwich after sandwich while I had a migraine and Jeff had the flu.  When my dad died she was my rock.  When her mom died, I was hers.  Through her chemo and total body radiation we became computer chatters and when she got home we had great hopes that all that she fought for would give her a new start.  Unfortunately that would not be the case, but through it all she tried to be upbeat and positive. 

Some called her the animal witch of Ventura because the strays would show up at her house and never leave.  She loved them all.  She had a green thumb and taught me a lot about gardening and started me on my love of canning. 

I will miss my friend, but I know she was tired of the fight.  She told me so during our last phone visit.  She was not able to learn the braille or how to get around her home without somebody being there any more and that was very hard for her to accept.

She is driving that fire red mustang and Fred the one-eyed red frog is in the back window, go get em girl!