Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Being There

When I was about 10 years old a little girl came into my life. She lived down at the end of the street with her Mom and grandparents. She was a wild child, a free spirit and the spark of life to my quieter, more passive personality. She became my very best friend in all the world. I will call her "D".
At 13, when "D" 's Mother remarried, she had to leave and travel the world because of her new father's job. I saw her off at the San Francisco Airport every year with solemn promises to write and see each other again the following summer..., and that we did. She wrote about Holland, American schools, new boyfriends, wonderful adventures and her new life. I wrote her and told her about Junior High School, new boyfriends and life in Pleasant Hill, California.
Every summer "D" would come back to her grandparents house. I would wait for a phone call , hear her voice and then run to the end of the street to see her.
We would spend everyday talking about her adventures. She would show me wonderful new things that I had never heard about. When she came back ,one summer, from Kuwait in Saudi Arabia she brought "Cous-cous" in a bag and showed me how to make it edible. She had clothing that was so "European" and then...., there would always be something for me. She never forgot to bring me some beautiful thing from some interesting place in the world.
We wrote letters for 5 more years and every summer we would spend our wonderful, fragile time together sleeping in the backyard, sharing boyfriends, skinny dipping in her grandparents backyard pool and laughing our way through the hot summers of our teenage years.
My Mother became her "Summer Mom" and she became another child in our house. She still lived at her grandparents house most of the time but she loved being at our home.

"D" graduated from an air force base school in Northern Africa and returned to the U.S. We started college, got married and she went back east for a few years, then moved to Montana, became a nurse and stayed in the Big Sky state never traveling to another country again.
The story is long, the distance has always been far and the visits few, but the bond we forged so long ago has never been broken. We have stayed connected all these years and when she knew that Mom was dying ..., she came.

She drove from Montana, hoping to get here before Mom passed but didn't make it . I'm sorry she wasn't able to see Mom and talk to her. Mom knew she was coming and looked forward to seeing her other "daughter". There are things in life that just don't happen the way you want them to. It's sad but true. But, there was so much more.
"D" stayed for a week. She cried with us and laughed with us. She helped bring all of Mom's things home in her truck. She listened, gave comfort and told us things about our family that even we had forgotten. . She became a support system of love and humor..., and wisdom. My sister has always known that "D" was part of this family in so many ways. There are blessings that you just don't see in your life and then they arrive with arms open and you don't question them.
My friend was always there; in the summers of my childhood, in letters from around the world, playing in creeks and old oak trees and under a white parachute that bellowed on a green lawn in her grandparents yard (she knows what I mean)..., and she was there last week because she is my friend and we love each other.

She was there.
















She came home with me. Gave an old friend(the Prospector) a big hug; Met Carl for the first time. Fell in love with him and he returned the affection. and she settled in for a few days . She got to met the goats and Annibel, listen to the Coyote and Fox at night and take photos of bumblebees with me..., and sit on the porch. We talked and I cried; and she was there.....
We had two lovely days and then the familiar leaving. It would be a long drive back to Montana and her hubby that waited, their dog and chickens..., and her job.
She called twice on her way back. Now, she is safely home.

Thank you my sweet, sweet friend. I hope you know what this meant to me. Your friendship is a gift of memories and love. Like the Oak tree we played in as children, you gave me support to climb to a new level of my life, a place without parents and you did it silently asking for nothing.
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11 comments:

  1. How blessed you are to have a friend who accepted all of you and not pieces of you.

    Your is a true testament to the reality of relationships that are GOOD.

    Blessings to both of you.
    Tammy

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  2. Darnit, I don't have any tissue handy. I guess the sleeve of my blouse will have to do......
    xx
    julie

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  3. We would all be fortunate indeed to have a friend like D to enrich our lives. You are indeed blessed.

    Helen

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  4. That's what good friends do. Nothing less. I am praising God for answering my prayers and bringing you the comfort that I asked him for. He is so tender to know just exactly the right way.
    How perfect.

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  5. Connie I just love this post tonight. So glad the friendship endured and she could come and be there with you to help ease the pain of losing your Mom.

    I have a very close story from my own life just a little over 2 years ago.
    I had found my old childhood friend on classmates and we had been doing some catching up on the computer. My Dad suddenly passed away and her and her new husband came to my Daddy funeral. It was probably a 2 or 3 hour drive for them.
    I was sitting in the front pew and receiving friends and there she was,and all these past 32 years just faded away. I just melted when she touched and hugged me. My husband and I went to her home and then we all traveled from there to where she and I used to spend long weekends when we were teenagers.
    She will never know what it meant to me to look up and see her at Daddys service.

    Hope you and Lisa are doing better each day.

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  6. There really are no words.....

    My emotions have the best of me.

    What a beautful story,so beautifully written.

    Friendships like this are few in this world.

    And we all know it.



    Warmest Regards,
    Kary

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  7. Hi Connie, It was good to read this touching story. How wonderful it is to have a friend like that. My prayer are still with you. Thank you for your visit and comment on my last post. I do wish the picture on my header was close by but it was gotten off the internet. Have a great evening. Madeline

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  8. Wonderfully written thoughts about a great friendship - someone who became a part of you. Her gift of just being is one that is so very precious.

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  9. She is a true and genuine friend, and you are both blessed to have each other. I am so glad she was able to be there for you at such a difficult time in your life.

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  10. Lovely post, even lovelier friend. I loved reading the story - I was brought right in.

    I haven't been keeping up on my blogging lately. I am so sorry to hear that your mom has died. My heart goes out to you. I know this journey too.
    Light and love to you
    Terry
    PS I love the side images you put up. Very nice photography

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