Back in 2004 when I was looking to buy a home in Southwest Florida, the real estate market in that seashore town was somewhat like it is today. Inventory was low, prices were escalating and there was a lot of competition among homebuyers.

Early one morning my Realtor learned of a home coming on the market that day. We were the first to go through it and I fell in love with the home with the gorgeous water view and the big pool. I immediately signed a contract offering full asking price.

Unfortunately by the end of the day the seller had four other offers. She said she needed a day or two to make a decision.

While I was walking around the home the seller was working in the garden, giving me the chance to ask whether it was a friendly neighborhood.

She told me some extraordinary stories about how the neighbors helped her cope with cancer.

I think it was expressing my need for a friendly neighborhood that made Kay decide to sell me her house. She said she thought I would be a good fit for the neighborhood.

I got more than the perfect little home for me. A bonus was the special friendship of Miss Kay and her adult son, Chris.

Everyone calls the southern-bred woman Miss Kay. She’s a nice blend of gentility, graciousness and extraordinary optimism.

I call her Miss Sunshine because no matter what she goes through she is upbeat and grateful for every day of life.

She phoned me one dreary, rainy day and commented on how blessed she felt to be on the lanai and listen to the rain. Her philosophy was that every day of life is beautiful.

A few years later when I married David, she was my maid of honor. She said she was thrilled to be part the wedding because she would never have one of her own. While she had suitors, she never found anyone she wanted to marry.

Ahhh, now I have to tell you her love story.

Right before she celebrated her 75th birthday, out of the blue she had a phone call from her old high school sweetheart.

Walt asked her to attend their high school reunion with him. They hadn’t seen each other for decades but they never forgot each other. When he flew from his home in Nashville to Florida and they got together, there was not one awkward moment.

“It was like we were never apart,” Kay said. Indeed, it was a joy to see how they beamed around each other. They had a great time at the reunion and didn’t want to part.

So they didn’t.

Kay accepted Walk’s invitation to move to Nashville with him.

What fun it was to listen to her joy when we talked on the phone. I’m sure it was their destiny to be together. Their only regret was that they didn’t do it years ago.

They made up for lost time by sharing every moment together. It wasn’t a case of each one going off to do their own thing. They sat holding hands while watching TV and never ran out of things to talk about.

Walt had a successful career that allowed him to have a comfortable retirement. While he had plenty, Kay gave him something he didn’t have as she filled his life with sunshine.

True to her innate character, nothing got her down. When Walt needed heart surgery and countless hospitalizations Kay was his strong support system.

They aged with grace, counting their blessings of having each other.

For eight years, every phone conversation I had with Miss Sunshine was upbeat. She often mentioned how happy she and Walt were together.

Kay talked with her son in Florida almost daily. Sure, she told him about each of Walt’s physical problems. But because she never complained it was a shock when she told her son she needed him in Nashville. He got there five days before Walt died.

Every story has an ending and it’s not always the one we wanted.

Friends and relatives told Kay they were sure she prolonged his life by several years.

I gave her a plaque when they first got together that said: True love never dies.

She told me she still treasures the plaque. Her love for Walt will never fade, she says.

A long time ago I learned the truth behind the belief that the more we love, the more it hurts when our loved one is gone.

Everyone who goes through it has to walk through that pain. We all do it differently and it’s never easy. Kay is doing it in a way that is uniquely her.

She still focuses on the joy of each day of life. She is still Miss Sunshine, which doesn’t means she hurts any less. Old age is hard. And it’s harder when we are alone.

Yet, even when her grief is still so raw, she says she is filled with gratitude for the life she has had, especially the eight years she had with Walt.

Miss Sunshine has always been a beacon of inspiration for me as she tries to focus on what she still has, not what she lost.

We all need her special kind of sunshine.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.