Truths: Life and all its lessons

Its been awhile since my last blog – there has been a lot going on – all of which deserves its own blog – but here’s the thing that it all comes down to – friends and family and the free life lessons they offer along the way.

Three weeks ago, a dear family friend passed away. I had known her my whole life. She was the kind of person who everyone viewed as a saint. She was always sincere, always thoughtful and completely selfless. At a time in my life when everything had gone awry – she offered unconditional support and I was grateful.

A few years my back my brother passed away and I wrote his eulogy. Apparently, it touched Pat’s heart and at the time she said when she dies, she would like me to write hers. And so two weeks ago, I did and was asked to give the eulogy.

I was overtaken with both honor and… complete fright. The writing part was easy – it was the idea of speaking in front of hundreds of people. But right before I walked up there I knew it was going to be okay because I knew that what I had to say about Pat was important; she deserved to be celebrated for all of the amazing things she had done – not just for me – but for everyone in the room.

And it went well…really well – and I can only hope that the tribute I gave was what Pat had wanted – that it lived up to her expectations – because as a person and a dear friend she certainly always exceeded mine.

A few days following the funeral, I left for Spain to see my dear lifelong friend, Mary Kate. She met and married a great guy from Spain and three years ago – moved away to start a life in a foreign country. The irony is that out of all of us – Mary Kate was the only one to study German in high school!

Sure I was excited to go to Europe but truthfully, my trip was about seeing my friend.

She and her husband planned out every day to the hour – we saw castles and cathedrals, ate native food (some of which I can’t talk about without either crying or throwing up) drank beer and had an absolute incredible time.

But, one night as Mary Kate and I were walking down the street after going to the grocery store and buying beer to take home it hit me. Here we were these two women – friends since we were 10…we lived across the street from each other, played dolls, and smurfs and spin the bottle – drank at parties and were in each other’s weddings… here we were walking down a street in Zamora, Spain – and we were the same little girls running in the street, getting dressed for prom, crying over boys… You could take us out of our home – but you could never take away our friendship – the years we have helped each other through and the bond that is so tightly sealed.

Here we were two American girls – not really fitting into the Spansh culture and truthfully, not really caring. The cathedrals were pretty, the castles breathtaking… but that one moment of realization of seeing the two of us and the years we have shared transcend time and distance – that made the whole trip memorable and priceless.

I am blessed to have and to have had such wonderful people in my life. And moments such as the ones I have had these last few weeks are unforeseen reminders of what is important in life – the ties we form with those around us. The love we offer and the acceptance we give.

Sure people come and go in our lives and that’s okay. But the ones who stick around, the ones who celebrate the good times but never fail you in the bad times – those are the ones we cherish.

Its never about the stuff – its about the moments we share together – the things you really can’t hold or touch but the feeling you get when you are together.

I miss Pat and I miss Mary Kate but whether it be an ocean or a heaven in between us – I know that neither of them are far away. I will always have this special place for each of them – this warm spot within my soul from the ways they touched my life. Those are the real blessing in life.