Where to start...I knew Erika forever through our family (my uncle married her aunt) but I guess our friendship started when she came over one summer in 2007 to go swimming, that’s when we finally got over our shyness and hit it off laughing and gagging over a bowl of maggoty cherries that we had been eating by the pool 🤭🤢
Since then I was over her house every weekend doing the typical teenager things like sleepless sleepovers, watching movies, singing karaoke, going to the mall, trips to Toronto, talking about boys, and of course having boba and lots of calamari and jasmine rice!
As we got to high school our bond only got stronger with our big circle of friends, we were all tight and we were always together. This is actually around the time she met her boyfriend Lester (I like to think I played a small role in them getting together lol) I’ll never forget when they first met...I hope he shares his story but for now I’ll spare you the details of his corny humour aka flirting.
Lester is literally the guy version of Erika, they both had a wildly goofy personality, and I knew that because they were so similar that they would end up together. And not so long after that they were inseparable....so you’re welcome lol Although we started seeing less and less of each other, our friendship always remained the same.
I know I’m not the only one to know that it didn’t matter how much time had passed since you last saw Erika, because whenever you did she made you feel as if you were picking up right where you left off. That’s just the kind of person she was.
She was so blissfully happy, living life to the fullest, surrounded by people near and far who love her and she loved dearly. One of my last memories with her was about 3 years ago, we had made plans to go out and eat and shop but I ended up being really sick. She still insisted on coming over to hangout with me because she missed me and Lester had to run some errands anyway so he could drop her off. When she came to my house she brought me wonton soup and played with my hair while I devoured the whole thing....we spent the rest of the day laughing, joking around on Snapchat and prank calling Lester.
I think Erika’s loving and carefree energy is what I’ll miss the most. Looking back now I wish we made more effort to just hangout...all the plans we had made to get together that we forgot about, where something came up or just simply didn’t follow up on....I just always thought I’d have more time with her and now here I am writing what my life was like with her in it and it isn’t nearly long enough for you to understand what she meant to me, what she meant to her family, her boyfriend, her friends If you didn’t know her, I’m sorry you never got the chance. If you did, then you know how much she’ll be missed...let’s continue to live our life cherishing the incredible time we did have with her, spreading love and joy the way she did. Thank you for the memories eeka xoxo