Happy Birthday, LeeAnn!

Thinking of a very special person today! LeeAnn Gist Calvino would have been 42 if she was still with us. I met her not long ago at a workshop I took in Houston that Jane Shibata was teaching. I had sent in my envelope with the check enclosed EARLY and with that faux pas she remembered me! Oooops! Then, I remember hearing that she was at the Dallas International Calligraphy Conference where we ran into each other again. She was so worried that she was going to miss something.... but I told her to rest and take in what she COULD do as she would do it more FULLY instead of being tired, dragging along trying to do EVERYTHING! I could relate, as I had the same mentality when it came to not wanting to miss any of the fun....I didn't have brain cancer, though.

The next time I saw her was the year 2006, when she would drive in once a month for twelve months from Houston to take the year long, Reggie Ezell workshop in Austin. I had heard about her recurrent cancer bouts and was very interested in really getting to know such a FIGHTER! She was an inspiration to all who knew her, I believe. Her infectious smile and outward personality was an instant attraction and then after I got to know her, I loved her heart and her soul! (Intelligence and humor!)
She spoke so highly of her dear Paul. It was like he could "do no wrong" and was her "Knight in Shining Armour". (I felt we had that in common as I feel that way about my hubby, too)
As the months passed during Reggie, we gravitated toward one another and made plans to get together so our husbands could meet when the class was over.....

During the year, I would have my ailments and hospitalizations (4 sessions that year for a total of 58 days) and she would be doing her chemo sometimes AT these classes! NOTHING could stop our passion. The fact that our husbands were so supportive of us and we wanted to get as much out of the year as possible, made us both strive for excellence and do our best to accomplish what we set out to do.... LEARN! I know many times I said to myself: "If LeeAnn can do this on Chemo, then I can surely pull myself up by the bootstraps and get out of any pity party in order to get my homework done!" I found out later that she said, "If Trish can get her homework done while she is in the hospital, then I'm determined as well!"
We were both each others' cheerleaders and friends.

We had loads of fun during that year with our "Pink Flamingo" day and our "Roman Empresses Day"... complete with bay leaf wreaths as our crowns.... the best part was our Christmas Party, though. Everyone let their hair down and we had one of the best parties I have ever been to. It was complete with fun and frolic...and we got the t-shirts back that we had designed for the class. Lee Ann volunteered to be in charge of the Thank you gifts to our organizer, Loretta and Reggie. I saw a drive in her that I rarely see in most people I have ever known. The projects that she proposed and began got finished... and not just that, but "Finished with a Flair". She compiled the recipes for us all and hand made booklets to house them in. Talk about energy!? WHERE on Earth did she get that much!? I loved her level of commitment and follow through... of things that she didn't even HAVE to do. She was a true idol of what a volunteer should emulate.

The homework was monumental in our Reggie year, but the homework that she brought to class each month surpassed everyone else's idea of what one could do in a month's time. She had great ideas and wonderful follow through. The talent she possessed was barely tapped into before her passing. One of her homework projects left her fingers bloody, but that didn't stop her from getting it done. It was breathtaking!
I have come to know her husband, Paul, in the months after her death and found out even more tales about her that inspire and encourage me to live my life to the fullest. I have never been one to squander time and feel sorry for myself but when I start to wonder, I think of LeeAnn and a couple of other incredible people that have shaped my life into what it is today. I would not be the same, strong person I am without knowing them. Thank you, Paul, for being my friend and remembering her together.... I'm sure she will NEVER be forgotten!

All in all, I just wanted to remember a special lady, a special angel in so many peoples' lives. Today is her birthday... so I light in candle in her honor and blow my diet with chocolate. I would have gone to Chuy's for dinner, but since Kevin had to go there for a business lunch, I didn't want to "subject" him to it TWICE in one day! She loved Chuy's... and she loved her Paulie and she loved her family and Prancer and SHE LOVED life! Rest in Peace, dear, sweet angel of a friend.
"When God needs another angel, he calls his Children home."

This is my all time favorite photo of LeeAnn as it shows her smile,
which was one of her best attributes!