Delightfully Mischievous - Blair Phillips

Many of you knew Sandra as an adult. You knew how creative and fun and full of life and mischief she was. She was always causing people to think differently about things and to live life in quirky ways without an ounce of intimidation.

One of the best things about Sandra was that she lived life to the absolute fullest. And, she did so long BEFORE her diagnosis. She was not one of those people who changed their lives dramatically after learning they had cancer. Sandra lived this way from the very beginning of her life. Cancer did not ever change her. She just continued to be Sandra.

I’ve known Sandra since around the age of 10. When I spoke to all of Sandra’s amazing college and business school friends at her birthday party, many were amused to hear that Sandra’s strong and unique personality was present even as a little girl.

Sandra was what I would term “Delightfully Mischievous.” What I mean by this is that Sandra was quite the instigator. Pair her up with just about anyone and you were getting thrown out of art class, or covered from head to toe with an awfully messy substance.

However, no one would have ever classified Sandra as a bad kid – you see whatever she did, she did with such zest, individuality and creativity that you couldn’t help but be delighted by the whole fiasco. You couldn’t help but be in awe and think, “why didn’t I come up with that?”

As little girls, I think my mother used to cringe when Sandra would come over to spend the night. Not because she didn’t adore Sandra, but because inevitably we would end up getting into a brownie dough fight or turning ourselves into human sculptures covered in shaving cream with matching mohawks. Sandra taught us all what it means to live life intensely. Each and every person who knew her will carry her spirit with us throughout the rest of our own lives.

And the next time a whimsical, delightfully mischievous thought pops into your head (ie. dress in costume for no reason, color your food green, or scream a favorite phrase out of your window at the top of your lungs), I suggest you make that thought a reality in honor of our dear friend Sandra. You will probably have others thinking, “why didn’t I come up with that?”