You know those people who come into your life and impact you so greatly that they leave footprints all over your heart?
Well for me… Eleanor was one of those people.
Not only did she leave footprints all over my heart, but she tap danced all over it with high kicks and step ball-changes in there too.
She was one of a kind.
Gorgeous with dark, bright eyes that told a thousand stories, a super thick Scottish accent that sometimes left me guessing what she had just said and a sense of style that was simply stunning and elegant.
I first met Eleanor in my teens when she started working as a make-up artist on a television show that my mom was a part of. I was in awe of her.
She always wore her signature white blouse, and yet had so much presence that she could have walked the red carpet in it.
She was lively, spirited and loved to laugh.
But best of all she cared about people. She cared about me.
When the cast would all go into the show Eleanor would sit me in her make-up chair and fluff my hair up, do some eye make-up and allow me to reveal secrets about boys I was dating, stresses I was having and the general drama of the teen years.
In that brief 20 minutes that I sat in that chair… Eleanor would make me feel like a new person. I was still the same me, just with more eye make-up and teased hair… but somehow she always made me feel lighter.
She had that way with people.
Eleanor had lived her own troubles. She had her own worries and stresses and yet she never carried them with her. Ever.
She always shone so bright and was constantly full of compliments. You couldn’t help but love her… and more than that I adored her.
I think I can safely say that so did everyone.
Eleanor taught me that lipstick enhances any smile… so to wear it regularly as a smile is our best asset.
She also taught me that joy can be found in every situation. Even the worst of times, there is a lesson and there is light.
She showed me that laughing at yourself is a gift and we should do it more often.
A few short weeks ago I was informed by my mom that Eleanor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and sadly her days were numbered.
I went numb with the news.
My mom cried. We both cried hard. We hugged and then we smiled… for we both knew that sometimes life is shit. Sometimes things are out of our control. Sometimes we can do all the right things and still get the wrong outcome. Sometimes words are not enough and a smile is the only universal language we can use to express that we get it.
My mom and her group of friends from those television days call themselves the Breakfast Club because after decades of friendship they still meet up for breakfast, chit chat and laughs.
Sure, they reminisce on the good old days but what has kept their friendship going are the current days, the struggles, the joys, the downs and the triumphs.
They don’t have to see each other often and yet every single time they picked right back up where they left off to share a toast to on life.
We all need friends like that.
Eleanor’s life has been cut short.
Why?
It’s a question we will never be able to answer.
So although we want to cry and get angry and question things… there is no time for that.
Life is short.
Damn short.
So like Eleanor we need to embrace every moment of it.
Laugh when there are no words.
Dance when there is no music.
Love when there is sadness and find joy where there are only clouds.
For Eleanor knows in her last bit of time that she has with her family… that she needs to keep things light… not dwell on the could haves and should haves but to recall all of the memories which she spent her life making.
She never took a moment for granted. She always found the bright side. She always sang in her lovely Scottish accent, especially when Frank Sinatra would play… and like his lyrics boast, she did it her way. She loved hard.
Everyone.
Everything.
And when life got hard and she fell down, she jumped right back up.
Always.
So although my heart is heavy, my eyes are filled with tears and the lump in my throat is too big to talk… I raise a glass to Eleanor and a life well lived.
To a bright soul who used her light to make others shine so bright.
I am going to wear a white blouse on Friday when the Breakfast Club goes to meet Eleanor for their final meet up and I am going to smile at the joy that she has brought to so many lives.
So live every damn day with no regrets because when the curtain falls… all that is left is the memories… so make them good ones!
Life might sucker punch us in the gut over and over again… but get back up, fluff up that hair, throw on the lipstick and live like Eleanor. We’ve got this!
@half_full_most_days