A letter for my friend, Sara M.
October 3rd, 2012 | SarahLove
When Sara reaches her weight loss goals she rewards herself with letters that she has written to her future self. I wanted to write one to her, the person that is transforming right before our very eyes.
Dear Sara M,
You make me so incredibly proud.
I hope this letter finds you doing whatever it is that makes you most happy. It’s a nice day where you are located and right now I imagine you on a beautiful walk or enjoying a bosque bike ride. Regardless of what you are doing, I know you are concentrating on being thankful for all the things you have.
Sometimes in life people have to get to the point of rock bottom so they can use that as a foundation from which to build something solid. Maybe I am out of line to say that at some point you hit rock bottom but I strongly feel that you hit a point in your life where you faced the fears of your mind and somewhere deep inside of your soul you told yourself that you were ready for change. To look back and see how far you have traveled to where you are now must make you feel renewed. You have always been kind, sweet and giving. Sometimes giving so much that you forgot to save some goodness for yourself. However, somewhere along this journey (that you are still on) you also did something that just blows my mind. It’s as if you grabbed your life up from the ground, really looked at it and proclaimed: I am worth it. And you are.
I want to brag to people and say, ‘That girl over there, yeah… that one. She is my friend. I’ve known her for most of my life. In elementary school my mom sewed our cheer leading outfits, in middle school she made me laugh and in high school her house was a refuge for me on days that I didn’t want to go home. In many ways, she saved me.’ (Thanks to your mom and dad.) As far as friendships are concerned, one thing I know you can agree on is that it’s so much more than the quantity of time. It’s about the quality of those memories. Together we have loved, lost, laughed, cried, shared ideas and worked on helping others. We bake perfectly round cookies but are terrible at baking banana bread. We are both blessed to have many friends that we love and they love us back. And since no other time is a better time than the present, I want you to know that I have no other friend that is like you. So, when you have those days when things are looking grim or you might just feel kinda down, just know that someone out there is being taken back by the wonderful, beautiful thoughts of you. That person is me, your friend.
You inspire me.
Always,
Sarah E
PS And now I have to thank Travis. For documenting us in such a way that I will forever cherish.
Dear friends and followers (by followers I mean all three of you. 
),
When I pulled up to Sara’s house we were both wearing hearts on our shirts and it reminded me of when we had to dress alike when we were on the dance/drill team together in high school. It was perfect. Although, I must admit- I didn’t recognize her because she has lost 80 pounds. Yes, e i g h t y. Her secret? Exercise and eating healthy.
I love this girl.
Sara is just as beautiful as always but she is radiating with such happiness now!
To celebrate her birthday, she posted thirty three things that brought her happiness on facebook. She shared images of reading her favorite childhood book, building a fort in her house, jumping of a swing and rolling down a gigantic grassy hillside. I commented and mentioned that if she wanted a round two of the hill rolling, we could go together. She obliged.
Imagine watching this to the Bennie Hill theme song. We laughed so hard we cried.
Sara’s landing.
My natural OCD kicked in and my rolling was lame to watch. So, I won’t bother posting it. That and I look like I am about to puke. Well, kinda like this guy.
You might be wondering who that is. Lemme tell you what happened. A group of city workers saw Sara roll down [they were on lunch break, in case you were getting uptight about your tax dollars hard at work ] and they were also inspired by her! Minutes later we encouraged them to roll down the biggest, sloped side of the hill. I still can’t believe we got three out of the four to participate!!! And as a challenge they only spoke broken English so my Spanglish totally came in handy. (Thanks mom!)
Hill rolling is not the safest thing to do so remember:
See Sara, You don’t only just inspire me. There are so many others. You are ‘king queen of the world!!!!’ Hugs!!
This is fantastic! Sarah E, you are such an amazing friend! And Sara M, you truly do inspire! I am so proud of you and you look phenomenal! And Travis, GREAT pictures!!!! Nicely done!
I love the hill rolling and love that you got those guys to join you! Priceless!
Love you both!
Kristi
Thank you, Kristi!! Yes, it was a very grand day. I think Travis has more talent than he is leading on. First the prize beer and now this?!
Love you!
Through happy tears , I say this is just marvelous !!! Love you Sara, Sarah and Travis!!!!
Thank you, Donna. A very long overdue thank YOU.
These were two of the best days that I have had in a very long time… I have lost touch with many of my true friends as that makes me very sad.. But everytime I am in the presence of Ms. Sarah she makes me feel like a kid again. Like myself again. and most importantly… like I am loved!!!!!! As I love her just the same!!!!
Oh Sara, Indeed you are VERY LOVED. I needed to laugh like that so much. My abs hurt for two days. Amongst other things!
That hill rolling stuff is no joke. Ouch!
This is just beautiful. I have only know Sara M. a short while, but my husband and her family have know her for quite some time. Sara used to babysit my husband Sean on occasion . He had a bit of a crush on her and he told his mother one day, “Not only is Sara beautiful, but she is smart too.” I could not agree with him more. Apparently she has always been quite an amazing girl. I am so glad to know you and your family Sara.
Thank you, Dali! Sara is a gem! Very cute about the crush!!!!
As always, beautiful, Sarah & Sara! You both are amazing women! And Travis, Great job! You may find a second career as a photographer!
Thank you, Carmen.
I think you are right about Travis!
I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to know that Sara has friends like you(Sarah) in her life. I have seen people who call themselves her friends take advantage of her kindness. She is one of the most kind, sweet, and giving people this is so true. Also true that she gives to people until it hurts. In being her husband I can not stand to see her hurting it kills me. I am so proud of her for “Black listing” negative energy from her life.
When I read this letter I can’t help but smile. My Sara is so much fun. I often times feel as though I live with a freakin’ comic genius.Honestly she should do stand up comedy. She is always living her life to the fullest and enjoying every hill she climbs and rolls down. The hill rolling pictures are awesome and it does go to show how contagious her smile,her laughter, and her positive attitude really are. Things like this happen all the time in our house.For example Sara and I woke up at 3:30am this morning. I am not an early morning person so I was not in the best mood. Sara and I began watching Vh1 80′s music videos. This was such a great time sitting there with my comic genius. We sounded like Beavis and Butthead making fun of all things in the videos and making each other laugh,but it is all because of her presence. I love this woman to pieces and I am so happy her true friends love her the same.Thank you Sarah.Thank you for being there for my wife and thank you for sharing your heart. The world needs more of you both.
Travis. I can’t even begin to know how to respond to your comment. (Hence as to why it took so long to respond.) Sara is enjoying life and everything you said about your wife, is so true and loving. I am blessed to have her in my life for so many years. Something I hope I don’t take for granted- EVER.
wow! fabulous, and my congrats to Sara as it is NOT an easy journey, and that is just awesome on so many levels!
Love the copy-righted Travis Keim photos!