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Friendship

by | Apr 27, 2013 | Uncategorized

The Friday writing topic is friends.
You write with no editing for five minutes and then push publish.
I was not available to write on Friday so I am doing the assignment on Saturday.
Begin.
I have a good friend who has been with me, alongside me and is always an encouragement to me.
We met one year when our boys were little and she was new to the church I was attending and I invited her and her boys to a vacation bible school.
Then later on we went to Bible study fellowship together and it was good.
We have known each other about thirty years now and it has been a sweet relationship that continues on through good times and through bad.
She was with me when my sister was on hospice and very ill.
I was with her when her husband died and she needed a friend and a listening ear.
We have grown in friendship and aged together.
She even met her new ‘hubby’ with my help.
I will always treasure her and value her and thank God that he allowed me to be her friend.
Our boys are older now and time is moving us all near retirement age.
We each have grand children and share with each other those wonderful ‘child’ moments.
We each have a love for a good glass of wine together and browsing antique stores.
I will always be thankful for my best friend.
I don’t get to see her as often as I would like but I know we both have a special place in our hearts for each other and for that I remain thankful.
It is one of those relationships that you can not see each other for a long time and then meet and it is like you have always been together sharing as if time has not passed us.
My good friend Debbie, and I at dad O’s memorial service.

Beautiful

by | Apr 21, 2013 | Uncategorized

Joining Deidra on jumping tandem with the Sunday community.
Flowering cherry tree in Yamagata Japan by Ryan H

Reflecting

by | Apr 21, 2013 | Uncategorized

It is strange to not have dad O around here anymore.
I look at his pictures on the wall as well as the ones of mom with him and it seems so different now.
A lifetime ago.
A family history ‘changed’ forever.
The legacy ended other than what we can pass on.
In the blink of an eye the family changed.
The passing of time and memories continue.
Many families go through this but for us it is new.
My husband said to me,
“It feels strange to have no parents. I am kind of like an orphan.”
That would indeed feel odd.
My own mother is changing at a rapid rate and is almost failing to thrive.
Someday she will give up all together and that will be a sign for us the end is near.
I am sad for her.
Many things about her make me sad.
She has not been well for a few years now.
Her dementia and her Parkinson’s diagnosis has created a person
who is not able to be who she used to be.
If you have read my blog at all you know that I have had a blend of mixed emotions concerning my mother.
Time has allowed me to see her as a frail senior lady
who needs compassion and kindness very similar to the ones I helped many times in the pharmacy where I worked.
I don’t see the ‘bad’ mom or the one who made such confusing decisions for her family.
She is fragile in health and mind she is also aging and helpless.
My dad is also failing.
He has leukemia, diabetes, copd, and has to be on oxygen most of the time now.
His stamina is low and his spirit a bit cranky.
He is not who he used to be either.
They both have lost so much as time moved them forward.
For most of my life I didn’t know him.
In my adult life it has been a relationship of small talk and walls.
He rarely gets real with anyone.
She is not able to do that either.
So reflecting back is a hard thing for me.
The memories are not warm or sweet fuzzy ones.
They are blurred.
I don’t remember a close relationship with her ever.
And he has made it difficult to have one with him too.
I asked my counselor one time how will it be for me when they leave.
He said with tears in his eyes,
“You will miss what you never have known.”
Dad O was a dad to me and I miss him because I knew him.
He cared for my heart and my spirit.
Reflecting back on a loss is hard sometimes but it is also
healing to remember the good about someone.
Do you ever spend time reflecting about people in your life?
It is just a little something to think about today.

Saying goodbye

by | Apr 16, 2013 | Uncategorized

In loving memory of a dad and grand father ~
Saturday we had the official graveside service for dad O and then we went to the church for a small lunch following that we had the memorial service for him.
The local veterans of foreign wars assigned about eight men to stand near the flag and his picture.
It was interesting as they each took turns to salute him and then stand during the service.
It was not distracting or disruptive.
It was meaningful and special to have him honored as a military man.
He served and did it with a servants heart.
His life was shared by many and his life was honored by many too.
Saying good bye is hard but we do know he is in heaven with his bride of almost 61 years.
He is with his son and other family members who went before him.
We will miss him always.
He left a legacy and he made an impact on everyone he met.
We say good bye for now.
Until someday we meet again.

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