I met Carmen when Chelsey was a little girl, in 2nd grade I believe, attending an after school program where I was the teacher. My son and Chelsey quickly became good friends, being only a month and a day apart in age, and so did Carmen and I.  I moved to North Carolina in 2002, but as the years went by, we still kept in touch, sharing all the ups and downs of life  via the phone,  video calls and a few visits back to Jersey. At the beginning of October, I was fortunate enough to travel back to Jersey and had the opportunity to catch up in person with Carmen. I was so happy to see her, and to finally meet Izzy and David in person, while they all met my daughter. Carmen made me feel right at home, like it hadn’t been 20 years since the last time we were in the same place together, making my favorite meal from all those years ago, rice and beans the Carmen way. We sat up for hours, sharing new stories, remembering the past, and just laughing together like we used to do all those years ago.

I will miss my friend dearly, especially hearing her yell, “Wepa!,” when we would celebrate the happy moments of life.