piglet

rebecca lynne goodhue was born june 25, 1976. she was born into a family of geniuses, and was no less herself. she skipped "half of kindergarten and half of first grade." she was beautiful, and talented in so many ways. her smile was the kind that literally could light up a room, but there was always a little devil behind the sparkle in her eyes.

rebecca was 22 days shy of her 23rd birthday when she died in a tragic accident on june 3, 1999. her father and my father were friends before she was even born. it took us until 7th grade to meet up, but from that moment on, we were destined to be the best of friends. we were polar opposites: she was the farm girl, i was the city girl; she was beautiful, with blonde hair and blue eyes--i have brown hair and eyes; she was outgoing, bubbly, and full of spirit, while i was shy and reserved (most of the time :). but neither of us really fit in anywhere else, so we had no choice but to be friends. for the next 12 years, we were sisters. we went to movies,
camp, movies, and new york together. we even went to all-state speech together.--the only 2 from our school. i think we also saw a few movies together. we both had a little trouble mastering the art of driving--and claimed to have a contest see if we could have the same number of accidents. i was there when she got her first speeding ticket (her parents did eventually find out). she was the one who took me to my first bryan white concert.
	rebecca, randy stone (our coach), and kd at all-state speech in 1993.

after high school, we went our separate ways. but that didn't stop us from finding trouble together. we could go months without seeing each other, yet when we did get together, it was like no time had passed. the last time we were together, we went to lunch. my dad ended up at the same restaurant, but hadn't noticed us. so rebecca bought him a drink. very typical. my dad claimed to be embarrassed, but he loved it.

	rebecca was always full of laughter and life, and she was always a little mischievous. she loved photography, her dogs, and her car, "frieda". and she was never too graceful. some would claim that she was immature, but i beg to differ. she enjoyed life, and wasn't afraid to live it. her greatest gift to me was teaching me how to do the same.
rebecca with a lemon in her mouth

and i have to say, rebecca went out in classic rebecca style. please forgive me if it seems i'm making light of the situation, but i know rebecca, and i know she would be the first to laugh at the irony. and i know she was happy. she was with her first "real" boyfriend (who i know made her tremendously happy), pushing the limits (she never was one for rules or restrictions), taking a photograph (one of her favorite hobbies) of a waterfall (one of the most beautiful natural wonders).

rebecca was the queen of hugs, yet we almost never hugged one another. we never needed to. our relationship went so much deeper, that it was almost too cheap to hug. what i wouldn't give just to hug her now. . .