Aimee Garrett. There are hardly any memories from college that don't involve her. I met her when I was a freshman at Northern Arizona University. She was in my best friend's ward at church, and in her family home evening group as well. I was suffering from the after effects of a basketball game gone wrong and had a broken hand and couldn't go sledding with my own group one Monday night, so I joined my friend. When I met Aimee, I knew instantly that we needed to be friends.
Throughout my college years she kind of floated in and out of the groups I was in, but always, she struck me as someone I needed in my life. Then as fate would have it, my then current roommate, was getting married and moving out and I needed someone to share my room. It just so happened that Aimee needed a roommate as well, and in she moved, and all my dreams came true! Hahaha! But for real, I was so excited.
She lived her life to the fullest! She had more energy than I could believe, and her personality was infectious. Actually, my youngest son reminds me of her a lot. We were always up to no good, in the sense that, we were always busy doing something stupid! It was the most fun I'd ever had with someone. There was really never a dull moment with her.
During my first year there, in the family home evening group she was in, after an ultimate Frisbee game gone wrong, she dubbed her group the "cheetahs". The group evolved and the initiation INTO the group did as well. When I finally got married (I say it like I was old or something) and moved out, it had become a snowboarding group at the time. You had wear a cheetah tail down the slopes in order to become a cheetah. I was going to do it with them finally, but wouldn't you know, it was over the top of my honeymoon. She dubbed me an honorary cheetah as a result! Mostly the group was for fun, it was goofy, and it sorta circulated around the idea of just doing something crazy.
Not too many months later, she and another of my old roommates, Lindsay, passed away in a car accident. I miss the both of them terribly, and my thoughts turn to them more often than not.
Aimee was smart and funny and had a very serious side to her. Occasionally we got to see it, but she also knew how to make life fun, and if the word "epic" was a slang word back then, I'm pretty much positive it would've worked it's way into her extensive slang vocabulary, to be used at all times. Her life was epic. She made everything seem epic! And that's basically what her cheetah club was all about, doing something stupidly epic.
As I embark on this stupid idea that I should become a marathoner, I think she'd be quite pleased with the idea. Ever since it dawned on me what day this race is on, I haven't stopped smiling (albeit with misty eyes). I'm sure she's quite busy in heaven, but I'm also kind of sure she knows what I'm thinking, and I think it's making her happy as well. I can hear her say "Rock on" with that lean backward and gigantic smile across her face, her insanely curly hair swaying as she moved and her maniacal laugh at the end.
To honor her memory, and asanan honorary cheetah, it has become my mission to find some cheetah running crops and a cheetah tail to run those 26.2 miles in, for Aimee, for me, for my sweet buddy Jaylee, and for the idea that life doesn't always have to be serious, even as an adult. Racing doesn't always have to be serious. Sometimes it's okay to throw caution to the wind and live epically! Sometimes it's okay to do really stupid stuff as long as you're having fun. And even though really bad things happen in this life, there's always a reason to wear a cheetah tail and do something dumb, just to have some fun and smile.
Thank you Aimee, for being a fantastic friend. Thank you for showing me how to have fun. Thank you for being you. I can think of no better way to honor your memory and carry forward your cheetah club, and have a little fun all at the same time! I love you and miss you!
