Goodbye My Friend...Meg Misove Case

One of my closest friends growing up, Meg, passed away unexpectedly on January 11th. She wasn't sick or hurt in anyway...she just died her sleep at age 35. It's hard to process.

I can't even remember when we became friends. I just remember her always being my friend, from 6th grade on. We lived in the same neighborhood and this meant we spent tons of time together. We rode the bus together, hung out after school, spent every snow day together (we grew up in NY...there were a lot of snow days). She went to Florida with my mother and I - the first time I ever went on a plane. I remember us in Florida, forcing my mother to play wildly inappropriate tapes in the rental car, like R. Kelly.

Meg was already riding horses when I started, but we had even more fun doing it together. For a few years, we spent every extra moment at the barn. We both loved everything about being there - the horses, the smell, feeding, bathing the horses, mucking stalls, painting the jumps. We just loved being there and learning as much as we could. It was a really special time in my life, and Meg was a huge part of that.

Meg taught me how to drive. She had this big white Blazer and we rode to school together every day. We grew up in upstate New York, where snow and ice are on the road 75% of the winter. One morning, while she was teaching me to drive, I rear ended someone after sliding on ice. Ugh, I've never felt so guilty about anything in my life. I remember calling Meg and her saying "I'm mad at you, Sara, but I really don't want to be." She was mad at herself for being mad at me. I think that's a good representation of who she was. She lived in the moment, she saw the good in everyone. That was the closest we got to ever having an argument. Meg was a loyal friend - she didn't have expectations of me - she was just happy to be doing whatever we would be doing. I was a much more polarizing figure in high school...people tended to love or hate me. Not Meg. She had no enemies. Everyone loved her - she had friends within the various cliques and groups in our school.

We lost touch after high school...she never really got into Facebook or email and those are pretty much the only ways I communicate these days. I saw her in 2006 at our 10 year high school reunion, and instantly, our bond was intact. She was so happy to see me and had such kind things to say. It was clear we missed each other, and we exchanged numbers and talked on the phone, though certainly not as much as I liked. The last time we "chatted" was one of her rare occasions on Facebook, we talked about how she wanted to start her own family and the trickier aspects of being a stepparent. She had just gotten married to a great guy in 2009. They were the first couple to be married on The Walkway Over the Hudson. Her husband is collecting donations to install a memorial for Meg on the Walkway. I love the idea of having a tangible reminder of her there.

I wish I could hug her one more time and tell her that I loved her. Sometimes we forget that we don't have all the time in the world to spend with the people important to us, and to make new memories. Meg was a really amazing person, and I'm grateful for the moments that made up our friendship.