Special K and Cornflakes: In memorium
I know it has been a long time since I made my way over here and life got crazy with all the things going on the last few years. I wish it were under better circumstances for my return to these old stomping grounds. A major part of my time/life on livejournal revolved around my enjoyment of fanfic writing and sharing in the geeky fun of the fandoms I love. We all have made friends from around the world, some as acquaintances and the amazing few who become like family. One such amazing person was Maris, aka Rhapsody the Bard rhapsodythebard, and I was saddened to learn of her passing.
There are many of us here who had the honor to be called her friend. Her legacy and memory of how she lived I believe is something to learn from and emulate. She was a tough and strong woman who would scale the obstacles of life without fear but was also one of the most caring and kind souls.
On a personal level, Maris and I spoke frequently about our daily events be it the fun, the crazy, our pain, and love. We both were there through the growth of our marriages, the births of our kids, the losses in our families, and much more. I do not quite remember how it was we came to talking initially but I always looked forward to our talks; though, they grew fewer in recent years because of life getting busy. I am glad we had the opportunity to reconnect more again through her recent struggles.
Every year we sent Christmas cards overseas to one another and looked forward to it. She always signed it as our friends in “Dutchland”, something she always thought was funny when my husband coined it several years ago. We talked about life in the USA and in Europe, discussing our visits on both continents, laughing at my poor attempts at figuring out Dutch with my German language background. Her son was always my “little Viking”, even though he is not so little anymore. Her daughter is her jewel and I know will be a powerful force like her mom. Maris was always there as their advocate and steadfast rock, I cannot help but keep thinking of them and her husband and extended family at this time.
In our writing communities, she was the one who held us up higher and never tore us down. She was everyone’s biggest cheerleader but also would be the best in helping us improve our skills and craft. I owe her beyond measure for the improvement in my own writings and she always spent time to help beta-read my drafts to give me a straightforward opinion to make the best story. She was the go-to knowledge base on all things LOTR but also could spend hours slapping around details about Star Trek with me. She had her hobby in web design and we could talk tech shop, too. The fandom will never be the same without her presence in our lives.
The world lost one of the brightest lights and Maris will be missed. So, to my title, we were attached at the hip quite a lot in the old days that some friends nicknamed our duo of character works as "Special K and Cornflakes" (think like Forest Gump's peas and carrots). Here's to our crew and we will see each other again one day.