The Speech...

I've gotten a few emails about the speech ...
Although we had quite the crowd, there were many that were unable to make it as well. It was a holiday weekend and people had committements. But a close friend said that I should post my speech, so those who were unable to attend could read it.

It's strange. I wasn't worried about the actual speech, I was worried what to say...How do you write something that conveys how very much you loved someone? How they inspired you and became a part of you. How the world will forever be a better place for having them in it. How do you capture it in words?

I hope all the passion comes across in the words...I think my own emotions were conveyed to everyone there by how I spoke it as well. I don't know if I was able to capture everything I had originally intended...Hell, this wasn't even what I had envisioned when I began writing it. But this is what came out and here it is:

I spent a lot of time trying to think of what to say to everyone here tonight. I thought about talking about David and the phenomenal person he was. But I don’t have to tell you who he was, you all knew him. And then I tried to write something wise or profound. But in the end, I decided to just talk about David, what we learned and how he inspired me…

David and I learned a lot on this crazy journey. We learned that Cancer is a malicious beast that takes many things. Most poignantly of all…life. But there are things it can never take. Like Memories. Our love. Our Strength. And our Dreams. David taught me that…

David also taught me that Life is really all about choices. People say, “I had no choice.” But really, you always have a choice. You may not like the options, but you always have a choice. We didn’t have to like that that he had Cancer or what the treatments did to his body. But we did have a choice. We could stop enjoying and exploring life together. Stop laughing. Stop loving. Stop living. Or we could continue to move forward. Play. Laugh. Go on walks. Make art and Live.

And David chose to live. He chose to live his life as he always had. On his own terms. Enjoying the moment and creating beautiful memories. Not letting the Cancer overtake him, dictating his future. And he taught me you can’t let these things beat you. Let it define you and control your life. You must rise above it like a phoenix.

I think we have all learned a lot on this journey. I think we learned not only about David’s strength, his sheer determination and strength of will, his total unwavering optimism at the face of such adversity, and his pure love of life…but we also learned a lot about ourselves and each other as well. David taught us many things over the last couple years and I hope to carry his love of life, his compassion and his warrior spirit with me always.

I used to tell David how amazing and strong he was, and he would always say it was because of me. That I gave him his strength and that I was his warrior woman. I always thought this was so absurd. But over time…he helped me see the real me. The strength within me. I’ve learned that you have a choice of whether or not you will let events break you. And I’ve learned that I am one hell of a fighter. So, thank you David. Thank you for all of your love, support and wisdom. And although I can’t see you right now, I know you are here watching over us and I have your words and your inspiration. Because you my love, will always be MY warrior.

And David will continue to be my inspiration. And I hope in the coming years to always keep that with me. To remember that we can all do anything we set our minds to. And life is really all about what you make it. That strength lies within us and we have the power to unlock it. Because we all carry it within us always. Thank you my love.