About 12000 ft above sea level. Sandi presses on although we both sucking wind. It's cold and steep. The wind is raging over 50 mph. We can hear the crater explosions ever closer. We cleared the tree line and it is an inhospitable lava rock landscape. She keeps going!!!! Her sights set on the crater and she won't relent. I was concerned for it'll be night time soon. I pushed her back up n she pushed my spirit up. We fill the other with trust in one another. Ah, finally earths cauldron. Nothing else above us but the sky and raining rocks and brimstone. Lava flows around us.  We must be careful and stand around the fire with the wind behind and away. We throw things in the lava streams to see them vaporized before they hit the flow. We giggle. But it's cold. Sun is setting and fear hits. it will be dark so soon. We know it will be an amazingly difficult hike down in the dark. We waited however to see the setting sun from the house of heaven. What a moment, we us, the Mays did it!!!! Doggonit. Start trekking down and the heavens reward us with a billion stars shining down on us. Lordy, we so beat up. Go on May she says. Right here mama I replied. watching your back May. We pushed and pressed, conquered our limits. We were there for the other and the heavens smiled. We felt closeness and love that is seldom experienced. We trusted, we loved, we fought, and we saw heaven and eternity in a brief moment. Thank you my Sabdra, my Snookems my love.

I read Alex’s post on LinkedIn, of all places, and I cannot believe this wonderful, wacky woman is gone from this life. I met Sandi several years ago, and we somehow bonded at a financial aid conference (in Minneapolis, if memory serves). Since then we’ve had sooooo many fun adventures together and have connected during life’s various highs and lows to celebrate or encourage each other through it. The last time I saw her, we met at the Boca Mall as she was leaving SE Florida for a bit to once again change her life. Part of her charm was her ability to adapt and overcome whatever obstacles life may have dropped in her way, so I wished her all the best knowing that despite all she had on her plate at the moment, she would ultimately return as a beautiful butterfly ready to have even more fun! Looking back, I realize we were always closest during her transition phases. She knew what challenges and rewards she had ahead of her and how her personal strengths and weaknesses could influence the outcomes, and she always used those transition phases to become even more amazing.  I was honored to be her friend, and cannot wrap my head around the thought that the beautiful butterfly will never emerge again. One of the many reasons my husband decided I was “a keeper” is because Sandi generously invited us to a Panthers game and I got to be the “cool chick” who took her new boyfriend to a hockey game for Valentines Day. Of course the fact that we went with Sandi and somehow managed to forget where we parked definitely increased the fun factor. We will never forget wandering the parking lot with her,laughing hysterically while searching for our cars after that game. Please accept my deepest sympathies as you all come together and celebrate all that was Sandi. I will truly miss her.

The first time I met Sandi, she was working the hem of a bridesmaid dress for Debbie and Royal's wedding in 1998. She was really STRUGGLING to get it just right. I offered to hem the dress for her and from that point on, it seemed that our interactions revolved around clothes and shopping! 
Our next shopping adventure was several years later in Harlan, IA. Her brother Duane and I had come to Harlan for Thanksgiving - Sandi came for the weekend that year, too. On Black Friday, we went with Aunt Elizabeth and Cousin Maria to the Holiday boutiques in Elk Horn - more shopping and buying Christmas ornaments and being introduced the Award Winning Pork Tenderloin sandwich. We should have split an order! We both forgot about Grandpa More's rules in regard to 3 square meals a day, because we forgot that were expected to eat a full dinner that night of Thanksgiving leftovers!
We soldiered through and thank goodness - we needed our strength for another afternoon of shopping.the next day. Before the shopping, the morning was dedicated to putting up Grandpa's Christmas tree. The tree had once been an 8 footer...it was then reduced to half its' size. That fact did not however, allow for ANY of the ornaments or lights that had been used on the 8 footer to be left off. No branches were visible due to decoration sparseness :) We spent the afternoon shopping around the square in Harlan. A walking tour of the shops in downtown Harlan. We were both very successful with our purchases that afternoon!
Sadly our next shopping trip would be out last one together. That time we were in Houston for the Rodeo. We spent, what felt like an entire day on the search for a particular outlet mall near Debbie and Royal's house. Sandy wanted a few new pairs of black Calvin Klein pants for work and a new Michael Kors pocketbook. As I recall, I think we made several trips back and forth on the same stretch of 'loop' looking for this outlet mall. We were gone for hours. Part way through our search, we had a really nice lunch at a little Italian restaurant. We laughed and talked for a long time before deciding to get back out there and find those darned pants and pocketbook! At last - SUCCESS - we found the mall AND the pants AND a new pocketbook. I have no memory of what I bought that day, but my memories of the fun and laughter I had with Sandi are so much better than anything I may have purchased. I will miss your face, Sandi, until we see each other again, give Grandpa More a big hug. I love you.