In memory of Billie Claire Haffey
March 7, 1957 - July 3, 2012
From "The Hubby" (aka Charlie Haffey)
Having a Best Friend opens up the rest of your life to anything and everything imaginable. Being able to trust that person and share your heart with no fear of judgement, ridicule or reproach is possibly the closest we can get to communicating with God Himself. Answers to your questions are honest and only to each other do Best Friends show their vulnerabilities.
Possibilities become probabilities. Dreams do come true !
Becoming friends:
Billie has been my best friend since we met some 22 years ago. I was slow to trust and love. I found it very difficult to believe that this girl could totally and completely be 100% head over heals in love with me. Billie would have it no other way. Any time I tried to "pump the brakes" on our relationship she would "hit the gas"! We've all heard the saying "Drive it like you stole it", well, that's pretty much how she stole my heart.
First comes Love, then comes Marriage:
Before we picked a date for our wedding, we wanted to be sure it was the right thing to do. so many considerations, mostly our children. And we were so financially broke. There were tax debts, eviction notices, bounced checks - neither of us owned a home (it would be 9 years before we bought our 1st home). Yet, we wanted our marriage to not only be right, but to be "in line with the stars" and to change not only our own, but everyone's life in our family for the better.
The Equinox:
On March 20th, 1993 the Vernal Equinox occurred at exactly 8:41AM in the morning. That was our time. Our place was a wedding chapel in a nature reserve built and hand painted by a dear friend of ours. With us were our children and some very close friends (no more than 10 or so). We exchange vows and balanced a raw egg
(to assure the planetary forces were in balance - GOOGLE Vernal Equinox for more info). It has felt right every day since.
Happily Ever After:
Happiness and good fortune seam to flow our way. We had a setback or two with the good fortune part, but the happiness is what carried us forward.
Billie could make me laugh like no other and for some reason she always found humor in my thinking and my jokes. She chose to be happy. I know now that it is in our own mind to choose to be happy, it's not up to someone or something else to decide that for us. Billie chose to be happy.
We bought our 1st home together in Hobe Sound and two years later moved 21/2 blocks into another home with a Mother-In -Law unit in the back yard . . . . complete with the Mother-In-Law.
Billie LOVED to have the family over so she could try out all of her recipes. The food was not just delicious, everything she cooked contained a secret ingredient that made you full but had you craving more.
I tell you now so for those of you that cook you'll know how to win approval and admiration . . . the secret ingredient was LOVE.
I truly mean it. If the taste in her food was off just a bit, I KNEW that something was wrong with how she felt. We could
always talk about it - sometimes with a few tears and sometimes a little
loud - but I learned to taste her love! !
Billie would walk into a room and it was if someone turned on a special light. The room would light up and if you were in a bad mood you'd just have to leave the room if you wanted to stay that way.
When she smiled she would BEAM
The beginning of the end:
May of 2010 -
When she noticed a small, hard lump on her neck (it was a lymph node) we had it biopsied and learned she had developed a cancer that had already moved into stage 4, the final stage.
God gave us two more wonderful years with our friends and family which are, for the most part, documented in the pages of her blog.
We all know that our time here on earth is limited, but when you are given a "Last Call" there are certain realities that present themselves to you. Priorities change, relationships change and the TRUE meaning of life comes into question on a daily basis.
Billie Claire Cheek - Haffey did the very best that she could to live, love, laugh and share everything that she had, every ounce of love, with everyone that she knew and loved.
If you are reading this then this means you! !
She was my angel sent from heaven and to her I owe the rest of my life to honor the love and share all that I have learned from her. No matter the question, the answer is LOVE. Love yourself - you are worth it.
After her passing into her eternal bliss on July 3rd, 2012, our family and a few close friends gathered together to remember her life. She asked to be cremated and that her ashes be scattered at the beach, in the air, the flower garden . . . . she didn't care as long as she could be anywhere and everywhere.
We took her to the beach in Hobe Sound, a beach near Grayton Beach and to the place where we took our first steps as a married couple at the chapel in Hogtown Bayou.
She will be remembered always and the impact on our lives will have ripple effects for generations to come.
Thank you Billie . . . .
and thank you readers and to those that posted comments for lifting her spirits and giving meaning to her life in her final years. We were truly grateful for the support.
I believe we have all been blessed for having known and loved such a beautiful soul.
March 7, 1957 - July 3, 2012
From "The Hubby" (aka Charlie Haffey)
Having a Best Friend opens up the rest of your life to anything and everything imaginable. Being able to trust that person and share your heart with no fear of judgement, ridicule or reproach is possibly the closest we can get to communicating with God Himself. Answers to your questions are honest and only to each other do Best Friends show their vulnerabilities.
Possibilities become probabilities. Dreams do come true !
Becoming friends:
Billie has been my best friend since we met some 22 years ago. I was slow to trust and love. I found it very difficult to believe that this girl could totally and completely be 100% head over heals in love with me. Billie would have it no other way. Any time I tried to "pump the brakes" on our relationship she would "hit the gas"! We've all heard the saying "Drive it like you stole it", well, that's pretty much how she stole my heart.
First comes Love, then comes Marriage:
Before we picked a date for our wedding, we wanted to be sure it was the right thing to do. so many considerations, mostly our children. And we were so financially broke. There were tax debts, eviction notices, bounced checks - neither of us owned a home (it would be 9 years before we bought our 1st home). Yet, we wanted our marriage to not only be right, but to be "in line with the stars" and to change not only our own, but everyone's life in our family for the better.
The Equinox:
On March 20th, 1993 the Vernal Equinox occurred at exactly 8:41AM in the morning. That was our time. Our place was a wedding chapel in a nature reserve built and hand painted by a dear friend of ours. With us were our children and some very close friends (no more than 10 or so). We exchange vows and balanced a raw egg
(to assure the planetary forces were in balance - GOOGLE Vernal Equinox for more info). It has felt right every day since.
Happily Ever After:
Happiness and good fortune seam to flow our way. We had a setback or two with the good fortune part, but the happiness is what carried us forward.
Fast forward to children getting married, grand-kids, more marriages, more grand-kids . . . our family grew with love and friendships.
We bought our 1st home together in Hobe Sound and two years later moved 21/2 blocks into another home with a Mother-In -Law unit in the back yard . . . . complete with the Mother-In-Law.
Billie LOVED to have the family over so she could try out all of her recipes. The food was not just delicious, everything she cooked contained a secret ingredient that made you full but had you craving more.
I truly mean it. If the taste in her food was off just a bit, I KNEW that something was wrong with how she felt. We could
always talk about it - sometimes with a few tears and sometimes a little
loud - but I learned to taste her love! !
Billie would walk into a room and it was if someone turned on a special light. The room would light up and if you were in a bad mood you'd just have to leave the room if you wanted to stay that way.
When she smiled she would BEAM
The beginning of the end:
May of 2010 -
When she noticed a small, hard lump on her neck (it was a lymph node) we had it biopsied and learned she had developed a cancer that had already moved into stage 4, the final stage.
God gave us two more wonderful years with our friends and family which are, for the most part, documented in the pages of her blog.
We all know that our time here on earth is limited, but when you are given a "Last Call" there are certain realities that present themselves to you. Priorities change, relationships change and the TRUE meaning of life comes into question on a daily basis.
Billie Claire Cheek - Haffey did the very best that she could to live, love, laugh and share everything that she had, every ounce of love, with everyone that she knew and loved.
If you are reading this then this means you! !
She was my angel sent from heaven and to her I owe the rest of my life to honor the love and share all that I have learned from her. No matter the question, the answer is LOVE. Love yourself - you are worth it.
After her passing into her eternal bliss on July 3rd, 2012, our family and a few close friends gathered together to remember her life. She asked to be cremated and that her ashes be scattered at the beach, in the air, the flower garden . . . . she didn't care as long as she could be anywhere and everywhere.
We took her to the beach in Hobe Sound, a beach near Grayton Beach and to the place where we took our first steps as a married couple at the chapel in Hogtown Bayou.
She will be remembered always and the impact on our lives will have ripple effects for generations to come.
Thank you Billie . . . .
and thank you readers and to those that posted comments for lifting her spirits and giving meaning to her life in her final years. We were truly grateful for the support.
I believe we have all been blessed for having known and loved such a beautiful soul.