I miss Alexa. She gave me this for my birthday this year (April 2020) and
wore an identical one. While I may be known to have
a big personality like Lex, when it comes to something personal like this, I
tend to be very quiet and introspective. I haven’t been able to bring myself to
read most of the posts on Forever Missed or Facebook. I have read some, and what
I have read is spot on. Though I tend to shy away from public posting, I hope
that some of my words will dovetail well with other's sentiments about her.
The words that I can use to describe Alexa are
endless. If a book were to be written about her it would be an epic novel and
if a play were to be scripted it would be a musical filled with singing and
dancing. For now, I will begin with one word, extraordinary. Noting that the
key here is EXTRA, and she was, in every imaginable way. As many have
expressed, she was endlessly positive, abundantly joyful, generally full of
laughter, and ready for an adventure at the drop of a hat. If there was the
slightest mention of dancing, there was no waiting for a dance floor (or even
music sometimes) she was shaking what her momma gave her THAT VERY SECOND, and
I loved her for that. She was known as a scientist, a student, a mentor, a
conservationist, an activist, a leader, a confidant, a buddy, a friend, a fan.
She was your fan, my fan, a fan of animals of all kinds, of dark chocolate (we
all know the stash that always existed in her freezer or in some random bag she
was carrying), of wearing workout wear 24/7, of dancing (any style), of music
(you could talk to her about any band or any artist from the 1960s through today…just leave out the 80’s, apparently that
was a decade that did not exist).
She was tenacious, resourceful, and a force to be
reckoned with. She was a collector. You name it, she had it. If you ever tried
to pick up that lead brick she called a backpack, been to any of her living
spaces, or been involved in any of her moves you know what I am talking about . She collected people too. Wonderful,
kind, insightful, big-hearted people. She collected them like they were going
out of style. She saw the best in people and made an effort to bring joy into
other’s lives as often as she was able.
Alexa was resilient and fiercely independent. If
something managed to knock her down, she found a way to get back up with added
vigor. She had extremely high standards and expectations of herself and was a
high achiever. She was someone you could always count on to help.
All of these things made her beautiful.
Alexa was also human. She did have moments that
were not perfect. Watching her learn to accept and work with the things that
were not perfect also made her beautiful. When I first met her, she was
STEADFAST on not asking for help, even when she clearly needed it. And then she
changed. She learned to reach out and ask for what she needed. What was even
more exciting was that she was proud of herself. She had always been so proud
of others. I loved receiving those phone calls when she voiced how proud she
was about doing good things for herself.
Alexa was a sailor at heart. She lived to be on
the water. In the water. Near the water. Talking about being on the water or
the next time she would be sailing. Or just on a boat.
She was an animal lover. All animals. The girl could warm up
to a rattlesnake. And while dolphins may have been special to her… we all know
secretly deep down… her favorite animal *might* have been the loyal dog. If her
two recent adoptions were not evidence, look back at her love for Edna (her
mom’s unbelievably adorable dog) and even MY dog got a following on HER
Snapchat (if anyone remembers Sexy pug).
Alexa was a comedian, and most of the time it was
on purpose. One of my favorite Alexa comedy moments was when she was asked by a
doctor (after surgery on her wrist) to wiggle her middle finger. To encourage
movement, he kept tapping on her finger with his pen and her finger was not
moving. Mind you, she was still groggy from anesthesia. Come on Alexa move this
finger (tap, tap, tap). Nothing. So, we are all encouraging her, the doctor,
the nurses, me, and guess what… up shoots her finger… the middle one, ON THE
OTHER HAND. Classic! We all agreed, including Alexa, her funny bone was still
intact. In addition to great comedic timing, she used incredible terminology
like “hair wookies” to describe the gobs of hair we lose when showering. It was
as if she was Mary Poppins inventing her very own
Supercalifragilisticexbialadocious vocabulary. It was the best!
I could fill endless pages on who Alexa was.
Bottom line? She was EXTRA. And I will miss every EXTRA thing about her. There
is nobody that will ever fill the hole in my heart that has been left by her
absence.