Thursday, July 15, 2010

Make new friends, but keep the old

...one is silver and the other's gold.

Those words certainly rang true for me Saturday when I got back together with a friend ~ who I had not seen in almost 40 (gulp!) years. She has lived in Michigan since she went away to college.

I have been thinking about Karen all week and trying to decide whether or not to write about what it was like meeting up with a friend after all these years had gone by.
It was great to see her; we chatted about our memories of growing up, about our teachers and classmates, our children and our careers. That part was fun. We had no trouble reconnecting.

But my brief reunion with Karen was tainted with much sadness. Her only sister is dying, and she is back in Connecticut to be with her. Her parents and younger brother have already passed away, and her sister is her only tie to her original family.
I don't want to go into any details. I'll just say the situation is terribly sad and unfair. Her sister has a husband and two adult children. They are all making sure that she doesn't face the end of her life alone.

Karen has a deep faith. I admire her strength in this most trying situation, and I know she will weather whatever comes her way.

4 comments:

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i am so sorry about your's friend's sister. that is really sad honey. i'm sure it was good for her to have your support.

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxxo

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear that, Patti. I pray your friend's sister has faith to see her through.

big hugs :)

LAC said...

Oh, such a sad thing to learn. But do you see something here. God's plan. He led you to each other after all those years so you can be a friend when she needs one most? Does that seem to fit? Does that make sense? Sorry. I just always am amazed at how small the world is and the many connections there are.

Linda said...

That's quite the sad reason for you and your friend to reunite after 40 years but I think Lisa is correct in that there is always a reason these sorts of things happen. Hopefully you and Karen will continue to stay in touch after this reunion; I'm sure she values your friendship a lot at this time of her life.

My thoughts and prayers to Karen, her sister, and the rest of their family.