Challenges? Bring them on!

This article was written mostly while kneeling on a pillow.

Not because I was praying for inspiration, but because it was uncomfortable to sit, the results of an operation I had two weeks ago. This blip in my life has made me feel gratitude for my mostly good health.

My challenge certainly has been easier than my dear friend Connie, whom I had the good luck to move across the street from in Greenwich, Conn., 40 years ago.

When we first became friends she would tease me and ask, "Now where did you say you were from — Salt Lake City?"

Ironically, after moving to Princeton, N.J., and marrying David Katz, they moved to — guess where — Salt Lake City.

She and David were creators and owners of the Coda galleries, the spectacular one in Palm Desert, Calif., the one in Park City and the one they sold in New York City.

They were successful people who also were also philanthropic.

They worked on symphony boards and were instrumental in gathering a large art collection for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. They generously and quietly helped many artists, including Utahn, become extremely successful.

Great people.

Connie loved life, and everyone, including me, loved Connie.

Just a year ago she met us in Arizona with some other friends from Connecticut and we had a wonderful time. She was always full of stories and had a contagious laugh.

In June of last year, she called me to say she had pancreatic cancer. Each time we would visit or call she was happy and hopeful. But pancreatic cancer does not disappear from optimism, chemo or even inside contacts at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

In a surprise turn of events, her beloved David died last December. She followed about a month later.

I will now more patiently listen to stories about operations or setbacks, but I don't want to lose any more of my good friends. Aside from our family, they are the ones who sustain and support us as we travel down this bumpy road.

For instance, when I went to the hospital, my husband, Grit, said, "Let's not have people bring things in. I will be just fine and they shouldn't bother."