Nikki was one of the most genuine and real people I have ever met. A loyal friend, an incredible mother, and a total goofball. She was unapologetically herself and authentic to her core - an honest-to-goodness rare find these days. 

Her and I had an instant connection and discovered we had tonne in common - we grew up in the same area, listened to the same angsty music when we were teenagers, shared the same sense of humor and weaved an interesting web of 5 degrees of separation, where we questioned how we hadnt already met. 

Once upon a time, we spent every Thursday night together for Jersday, which meant good eats and trash TV. There had been double date nights, game nights, nights on the town, and nights we stayed in, just the two of us, while our partners rendezvoused. Days spent at Hawrelak, out at the cabin, kid birthday parties, backyard BBQs, and front lawn lounging. I was lucky enough to meet Nikki's children. She never shied away from any request to play or join in on their fun. She was very much involved, and it was apparent how much she loved them both. She used to sing this song to Meike when she was little, when she'd give her a piggyback - everybody's talking about my backpack, I got my backpack on - while tossing her from side to side. 

She would rave about how much she admired Theo and the person he was becoming. His warm heart and gentle spirit. Nikki's superpower was matching each of their energy in the moments they needed her. 

Watching her tackle school head-on while balancing motherhood and her own needs was genuinely inspiring. I remember how tough it got, but she never allowed it to break her. Once she graduated, Nikki showed me how cool LinkedIn could be (already putting that marketing degree to work!) and encouraged me to sign up so we could connect and then bask in all of its professional glory together. 

It's hard for me to choose pictures, partly because we used to filter the living daylights out of them (I wish we could laugh at how ridiculous we look with our doe eyes) but mainly because each holds its own special memory. Although I love them all, my favorite is a booth picture of us with the people who brought us together. Forever grateful. Life wedged itself between us physically, but we made a point to reach out as much as we could. Nikki will forever hold a special place in my heart. See you at the top, boo. Until we meet again.