Friends

There was very sad news last Sunday.

Late in the day, I received word that a dear friend had died, suddenly, on the previous Friday.  I still do not know any details about how this happened.

I was very close to my friends Jim and Ann for a long time, several years ago.

I'd met Ann first, when she came to the chiropractic clinic where I was working as a massage therapist.  She was my client first, and then Jim, and we became good friends over the course of my years working with them.

When I left the clinic to start my own business, Jim was my first client.

Ann eventually joined the dance troupe I was in, and we danced together for a few years, too.

Jim even helped with my dad when he was dealing with cancer.  If we three kids and our spouses were busy with work,  Jim would take Dad for his treatments so we didn't have to miss too much work.

Dad had daily radiation treatments, and it took several people taking turns to get him to all of his treatments.

There was a time, after Dad died, when I was very, very sick.  My husband at the time could not be bothered to take off work to take me to the doctor.  Jim took off work instead, and got me up off of the floor, dressed, and to the doctor.

There were many times when Jim and Ann were my life line after my divorce.

They knew my entire family, and joined us for parties and other gatherings.... like funerals.

They had my back when I was having trouble with a neighbor at the condo.

Jim and Ann moved to California before I moved to Oklahoma, but we never lost touch.

I can't even image what Ann must be going through.  Though they worked as missionaries for decades, and had a very strong belief in going to meet their God at death, there is still the vast sense of loss she must be feeling.

I was pretty devastated by the news, and didn't really have the chance to deal with it until Monday after work.

As a result, I was too much of an emotional mess to go to dance class, so I stayed home.

Fortunately, our teacher wasn't there anyway, so it wasn't really a class I had to attend in preparation for the next recital.

Nothing much else to report.

I am in the midst of my week off from taking the chemo pill.  I always look forward to that.

We got a gift card for a favorite restaurant, and met up with friends there on Wednesday evening.

Then, last night, we went to visit our friends from Switzerland (and their 3 dogs and 3 cats) at their home, and tonight, my friend Jules is coming by.

After the loss of Jim, and these visits with friends, I am reminded of how precious true friends really are.

They are our family.