God knew we needed to be friends

Some friends are just meant to be in your life. Cathy (Stebles) Lamb has been my friend since 5th grade. We have had some really good times together. And in the last 19 months we have had some really bad times.

We met at Dry Creek Elementary in 1977. She had been there since kindergarten and I ended up there in fifth grade after a large boundary transfer. We met doing track and cross country there but really didn’t become good friends until Junior High. At Clark Intermediate, we met up with Latrese Johnson and Teresa Guajardo and we were close through high school. They were all better runners than me but I guess I kept up enough to get to know them all well as we logged hundreds of miles over the years.

Below – We met in 1977 and here we are in our track picture, side by side!

And here we are in 7th grade, 1979.

Below – Cathy leading the pack at Clovis High while I brought up the rear!

At Clovis High School our arrival began 4 years of Valley Championships. Cathy was one of the better runners on the team and I was usually there as the 6th or 7th runner, ready to step up if someone else had a bad day. Being on the team allowed us to spend a lot of time together and we had fun traveling to different meets. During high school Cathy and I dated two separate pairs of best friends, neither of which turned out to be our future husbands, lol.

Below- Various team pictures, always next to each other!

In college we lost touch somewhat initially but ended up living together for two years. She was by far the easiest roommate I had, which was a relief since I didn’t want rooming together to mess with our friendship. After that I moved out of town for three years while I started my short-lived teaching career. When I came back we stayed in touch fairly well until we both became moms within a few months of each other. She had Michael the month before Sierra was born. Matthew was born in between Sierra and Camille.

With Michael and Sierra

Above – Latrese, Cathy, and I, singing karaoke at our 15 year reunion.

As the kids grew up we both got busy with their activities. Since she had boys and I had girls our lives kind of went separate directions but we still kept in touch over the years. Four or five years ago, Mike told Cathy that we should really reconnect. He knew we were good friends and I think he must also have really good intuition, we needed to rekindle our close friendship.

Over the years Cathy had remained active and stayed in great shape. I had not. I wanted to lose weight and she committed to helping me. We began walking just about every night. Friends or not, that is a lot of time to give up! And, a lot of times she was running in the morning and walking with me in the evening!Over the next year or so I walked off 45 pounds and Cathy and I became really close again. The long walks gave us time to talk and we usually vented about our days or helped each other work through problems. I finally got to know her boys a little better and my girls started fighting over who loved Cathy more!

Below – A trip to the coast and a walk on the beach in May 2014.

Below – In 2015 at my nephew Dominic’s graduation.

On April 19, 2016 Cathy and I met at Mickey’s yogurt to enjoy some oatmeal cookie gelato (our favorite). We had no idea that our lives were about to change forever.

The next day, Cathy was one of the first people I texted. When my text appeared incoherent she called me and then left work and came straight to my house. For the first few weeks she was either asleep or at my house. She was mourning too but she was my constant companion, helping me in any way that she could. I honestly struggle to put into words exactly how good of a friend she is, but especially during my darkest days. She was my rock.

In the fall, she was with me and the rest of the family as we began going to court and sitting through that whole experience. On November 18th I had a clumsy fall and she went with me to urgent care the next day to make sure nothing was broken. Early that evening she called and said, “Denise just called and said I need to go to my parents house”. Initially I was confused because we both have sisters named Denise and my Denise regularly calls Cathy. I finally understood that the Highway Patrol had contacted her brother-in-law, a CHP officer, and told them that they needed to go to her parents house. She said she would call once she got there. I waited about 5 minutes and then decided I better head there too. She called when I was half way there, her voice broke as she said, “It’s not ok”. I told her I was almost there and she warned me that I would need to get past police cars. I had no idea what was going on. My heart was racing as I explained that I needed to be with my friend. Luckily they didn’t try to stop me. I saw her Mom through the window when I walked up to the door so I knew she was ok and it was clear that something had happened to her Dad, Ron. He was simply getting the mail and was hit by a speeding car while walking back across the street. Like Patrick, he died instantly.

The last 19 months have been rough. It was a cruel twist of fate that we both had to experience such sudden, tragic losses. But I think it was divine intervention that brought us together forty years ago. God knew we would need each other, and especially in 2016. I’m hoping there are no additional cruel surprises for us and I am forever thankful for my best friend. ❤️❤️❤️

Below – At the Cher concert in February 2017.

Above – At Camille’s graduation, May 2017.