Onika Forever.

One of my dear friends and co-workers passed away this weekend, and it feels fitting to dedicate today’s Daily Tithe to her. 

Onika was an early supporter of my writing, and an early subscriber to The Daily Tithe. She would see me at work and say “Why didn’t I get your email today?”. 

And as uncomfortable as it is for me to hear about myself, her words of encouragement and praise often made me feel..

Like wow, maybe I am a good writer. Maybe I should continue. 

Yet, one of many beauties of Onika is that she was much more than a good friend. 

Our General Manager nicknamed her Kobe, because she was a beast of a saleswoman. 

No matter how many pairs of glasses you came to buy, if you spoke to Onika, you were going to buy more.

The irony that the woman who helped people see, had so much vision.  

She had the eye. She could style, design, and decorate. 

When I was laying new carpet at my house, Onika was the first person I texted. I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew she did. 

The DIY Project Queen.

She knew how to make things better. 

She would look at a space, (indoors or outdoors) that was seemingly perfectly fine, and add her touch to it. 

And of course I had to bother her about it..

“Hey, so what are you doing today? Redesigning your entire house?” 

That’s the Onika I’ll remember. 

The Onika who talked so much about her children whom she loved so much. The Onika who had all her friends and co-workers buying her mother’s (amazing) rum punch. The Onika who I was fortunate to spend work breaks with as we walked around the building. 

And I’ll remember the last time we got to hang together, in spite of everything she had gone through, and was still going through, she braved it out and came to hang with us - in all your glitz, glamour, and glory, like only she could.

Onika Forever.