Monday, May 29

My remembrance


It's Memorial Day. While we are encouraged to remember the soldiers whose lives were sacrificed for our own, I think it is also appropriate to remember all the others who did not serve in an official capacity but quietly, with powerful effect.

Today I am thinking about a friend who died suddenly, only a week after learning she had cancer. She was clever, straightforward and honest about life. She was my first good friend old enough to be my mother. She taught me about life in between selling sandwiches in her cozy bakery. We discussed astrology, her children, my uncertainty about a path during my college years. She laughed at me, at herself, at the world. She quit smoking cigarettes and began exercising during our friendship. She loved her golden retriever and took her for long walks. She loved her husband but complained mercilessly about his lack of direction. She loved her children who, she observed, were too smart for their own good.

She and I lost touch when I graduated and moved away. Then, a few years later, we began emailing each other with updates. She told me she escaped from the cold, damp days of Washington and returned to California. She complained about real estate forcing her to live in Sacramento. Then she became a realtor, a very successful one. It was 2005, she was happy and then, she was gone.

Thank you Pat, for your life. I remember you as a teacher and a friend. You are in my thoughts as the warm bread comes out of the oven, enveloping me in a sense of comfort.

2 comments:

highdesertsultan said...

you as well. thanks

Anonymous said...

What a nice way to honor your friend. Her impact on your life is clear and profound. What a special gift she gave you. Years will pass but the sweetness of your relationship will never diminish.

"Gather up your love and some wiseness and every memory shall always survive. Then you will see me" PT