Across The Room, Not Across The Miles

Today I am grateful for a full and meaningful weekend filled with time together with special people. I am also grateful for safe travels, laughter, tears. 

This is my friend Sheila and I on Saturday evening. The last time I saw Sheila in person before this weekend was when we said our goodbyes a few hours after her daughter Carli's funeral. Carli died by suicide at age 14 on April 4, 2017. Sheila came very close to losing her husband Dave that day too. 

Sheila and I have spoken regularly since that tragic day. Every few days we are talking on the phone, or sending some text messages back and forth. We have spent many hours in conversation over the last 14 months. You can't beat being together in person though. It meant so much to us to be in the same room, instead of hundreds of miles apart. 

I very much appreciated that my husband Darcy was able to join Sheila and Dave for part of the weekend as well. The many conversations that took place among various individuals and small groups were sometimes heavy, always important.

It was great to reconnect with my friend Linda as well. It had been five years since we had seen one another. And to see several other friends who gathered together Saturday evening. The years have gone so quickly since we all graduated from high school together in 1983.

Those years have brought wonderful moments to the people who gathered; marriages, children, grandchildren, travels, education and job success and much more.

And those years have brought devastation to some; suicide, cancer, addiction, loss, struggle. Our friendships bring us together though.

Sheila and I draw a strength from one another, from the depth of our connection to each other, the mutual trust and respect. It meant so much this weekend to feel that depth in the same room together, in the hugs shared, the conversations that played out.

Across the room, not across the miles. Wonderful time, many blessings.