Face to Face, Friend to Friend
Today I am grateful for safe travels over the weekend and for the opportunity to spend time with people I don't see often. (More about our special family outing tomorrow.)
One of those people was my friend Sheila. I hadn't seen her in over four years when we finally connected face to face again on Friday. We talk on the phone and text, but there's nothing like the real thing. The last time we saw each other was at our 25-year class reunion, after my first two BC surgeries and before I started chemo. A year ago Sheila was diagnosed with BC. We talked frequently and at length when she was going through treatment. It was a challenging time for her, and an opportunity for me to be her support. I never would have thought we would both end up with breast cancer, but we did. It added to our own life experience and it added to our already deep-rooted friendship. (Check out Life Saver #1 from April of this year at http://habitualgratitude.blogspot.com/2012/04/life-saver-1.html )
Truly, Sheila and I have supported one another in many ways over the last 30-plus years, often from across the miles. It was a long overdue hug we shared on Friday. Check out Sheila and I in my profile picture. Her post-chemo hair is coming back in curly, as sometimes happens. We talked about losing our hair and how good it felt when we stopped wearing our wigs and it was just our own hair. It meant we were on our way to recovery. We talked about a lot and would have kept talking if our time together hadn't run out. I was so looking forward to seeing her, and now I am sad because the time is over. But gratitude helps me keep it in perspective. I so appreciate that we have maintained our friendship all these years even though we haven't lived near each other since our college days. Many friendships fall by the wayside. Ours hasn't and won't.
I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to spend time with her and her family and to converse in person about our cancer experiences, our families, our history together, about many things that good, old friends talk about.
I sometimes wonder how the heck we got here so fast, some 30 years after we met. But I thank God we got here and I thank Sheila for her part in helping me get here.
When we had to say our goodbyes, I thanked her for the difference she's made in my life, for continuing to make a difference. Now, as we face midlife. Then, when I faced alcoholism.
Thanks Sheila! Great to see you!
Maybe there is someone in your life today who you want to tell "You've made a difference. Thank you!" What are you waiting for?
One of those people was my friend Sheila. I hadn't seen her in over four years when we finally connected face to face again on Friday. We talk on the phone and text, but there's nothing like the real thing. The last time we saw each other was at our 25-year class reunion, after my first two BC surgeries and before I started chemo. A year ago Sheila was diagnosed with BC. We talked frequently and at length when she was going through treatment. It was a challenging time for her, and an opportunity for me to be her support. I never would have thought we would both end up with breast cancer, but we did. It added to our own life experience and it added to our already deep-rooted friendship. (Check out Life Saver #1 from April of this year at http://habitualgratitude.blogspot.com/2012/04/life-saver-1.html )
Truly, Sheila and I have supported one another in many ways over the last 30-plus years, often from across the miles. It was a long overdue hug we shared on Friday. Check out Sheila and I in my profile picture. Her post-chemo hair is coming back in curly, as sometimes happens. We talked about losing our hair and how good it felt when we stopped wearing our wigs and it was just our own hair. It meant we were on our way to recovery. We talked about a lot and would have kept talking if our time together hadn't run out. I was so looking forward to seeing her, and now I am sad because the time is over. But gratitude helps me keep it in perspective. I so appreciate that we have maintained our friendship all these years even though we haven't lived near each other since our college days. Many friendships fall by the wayside. Ours hasn't and won't.
I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to spend time with her and her family and to converse in person about our cancer experiences, our families, our history together, about many things that good, old friends talk about.
I sometimes wonder how the heck we got here so fast, some 30 years after we met. But I thank God we got here and I thank Sheila for her part in helping me get here.
When we had to say our goodbyes, I thanked her for the difference she's made in my life, for continuing to make a difference. Now, as we face midlife. Then, when I faced alcoholism.
Thanks Sheila! Great to see you!
Maybe there is someone in your life today who you want to tell "You've made a difference. Thank you!" What are you waiting for?
Lisa, I just want to let you know how thankful I am to have you as a friend. You have always been a phone call away. You were there for me while I was going through brest cancer. Thank you for that. I really enjoyed having you here. It went by way to fast. Your friend always. Sheila
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila! I hope our in-person visits become more frequent again. It was great also to see Dave and the girls, your house, and all 5 of your mellow pets. :-) Check out my blog posts the next couple of days to hear what the second part of my weekend was like. Take care.
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