Re: full, grateful, warm, loving

For the year of 2007 I chose as my word - Gratitude
It is so fitting when I think of you Joann.
Dear Joann
I am so grateful to you for your tremendous LOVING
13 years ago you took my hand - I was so afraid, so scared and sad, so young in my process
Over the years you held me close , told me to breathe, shared with me how to stand forward and be solid and grounded in myself
And yet maintain my gentleness and caring
You were instrumental in me learning to have compassion and humor around all of who I am,
and to see that being"bitchy" was not necessarily a negative way of being
You modeled how to really be with others with curiousity, caring, and honesty 
Today Joann, you live on in my heart  - and are really a part of  how I choose to do things every day
When I heard of your passing - Aubrey and I put our heads together and held each other's hands and took some breath
We talked to you and told you how much loving we had for you.
Later that same evening we gathered together as we do every week with our check in group
Many of us there sat and talked about the many impactful ways you had touched our lives.
I feel connected to you at my core, from my soul!!!
No words can possibly say all that I am feeling in my full and grateful heart. 
I celebrate you,  I am loving you with all my heart and soul.
Sue Muirhead