My gratitude for Brenda is deep and wide.  She became my dear, dear friend even before I moved to Tampa.  During my visits before I moved, she and I were able to bond over books, humor, orchids, and last, but not least, our kids.  She made space for me without hesitation in a community with already tightly formed ties, but new for me.  I loved her for that and more.
Upon our move to Tampa, we spent virtually every single Saturday night with “The Tipps.”  Brenda was a splendid cook.  The four adults spent our evenings eating, and talking, and teasing and laughing.  Our 3 kids were holed up in Emily’s room, sometimes with a 4th or 5th kid, plotting and sometimes executing on their plots to do who knows what (well… we do know one plot involved sneaking out Emily’s bedroom window to meet some school mates and play basketball and who knows what until 3 in the morning when the police were called to the scene of the “crime”).  Brenda and I were friends in ways that covered various dimensions and interests, including and at times, especially about our kids.  We loved each other’s kids and she was a source of anxiety-reducing advice for me—in her calm and reasonable and oh so smart ways.  She was who I turned to for recommendations for books to read.  She delivered the very best recommendations and I am a better person for having read the books she urged me to take up.
We really did laugh a lot.  I guess that is my most important sharing.  My last text to her when she was home from the hospital involved engaging in silliness.  She let me know that she appreciated that.  I loved her and will miss her so.