thank you friends

one of my blogging friends, *happy girl *, has been 
encouraging to me all along. 
through the wedding stuff, and now 
the momma stuff.
one time she commented.."you will be glad
you've been journaling this."
she was right. i am..
i've been going back and reading those past few
days, weeks, and thinking.
"wow! we had no idea just how close heaven really was
for mom." 

thank you  happy girl.
* i've yet to figure out how to refer to you so 
others can link right to you. sorry about that.
if you want to read her great blog, click on her 
name in my comments. *

today i got a sympathy card from my best
friend in high school and her hubby.
i really like the words on the card, 
and also her personal loving words. 

i also had an encounter with another old
high school person. i was squeezing the clementines
in the grocery store. debating to purchase or not.
i hear a gentle voice greet me " hello mrs. b."
there stands the other first soprano from
high school choir. 
(she has a clear beautiful voice and 
it seemed she never worked nearly as hard to hit those
high notes.)
regardless, she asked how i was doing.
i hesitated, and finally said okay.
she smiled softly and commented "you're lying."
i sighed told her i was weary, but also back
to numbness. 
she understood. her mother in law had died just
this morning. 
wow. talk about compassion.
but....how did we get here? 
wasn't it just last week we sat together in choir
on the top row belting out those notes???
we both married our high school sweethearts,
raised kids, and now we are burying our parents.

i don't feel as old as i must be.


it was very thoughtful of her to make the 
time to greet me. i know she was busy
yet she took the time to say
"i've been thinking about you a lot lately."


i've also reconnected with other girls
from my early years. they too are supportive
and offering listening ears.

and....while waiting in a doctors office (60 miles
from home) with my sweet aunti one of
my mom's high school classmates came
and talked with us. she's a fun sweetie.
she was concerned with how we are all doing.
we chatted and then she left.
all of a sudden she's back asking
"how's your dad?"


I AM BLESSED.


it's people like these girls, and all of you
who lighten the journey. 

i'm also challenged to be more
expressive, compassionate, 
and vocally encouraging.

those are traits these two 
women had in their lives too.

 momma and her older sister.

 this is the sister who's 

address they sold to the soldiers.

she moved to heaven in july 2011.