Friends

Last evening I was reminded of how special friends really are.  My friend from the great state of Washington, Dolly, and I talked for a LONG time about all kinds of things.

I've been reminded of her often the last couple of weeks.  My sister is staying in the acute rehab unit at Lakewood Hospital.  Her father was the chief of surgery at Lakewood Hospital when we were little kids living close to each other -- our back yards met. 

After scouting out different possibilities for getting to the hospital from Canal Fulton, and after consulting mapquest, even my husband conceded that there is just no easy way to get to Lakewood from here.  So we did the old "tried and true" method and got off I-71 at W. 150th Street and headed west down Lorain Road (Route 10) to Wooster Road.  This route takes me past my childhood home and Dolly's childhood home, and reminded me of how many times her father must have made that trip himself. 

She told me that there is a plaque honoring her father at the entrance to one of the surgical suites.  That got me to wondering if it is still in place since the hospital was taken over by the Cleveland Clinic.

The majority of the homes that were there in the 1950s and 60s are still there, most of them still very gracious and appealing.  It's familiar stomping grounds, the exact same route I took to get to Lorain and Wooster to catch the North Olmsted Municipal bus that took me to school from seventh through ninth grades.

Our conversation always touches on certain things that we have in common but we also catch up on what we're doing these days.  She gardens and leads a writing group.  She volunteers at a food bank.  She's doing some painting and fixing up at her house, heavily shaded all about with tall trees.

It was a very good conversation and made me feel joyful at how fortunate I am to have wonderful friends. 

Then as I was planning a card to send to my sister, I found a perfect little poem that captures how we feel when we are sick.

"Renew My Mind, Body and Soul.

Lord, I come before you today in need of your healing hand. In you all things are possible. Hold my heart within yours, and renew my mind, body, and soul. I am lost, but I am singing. You gave us life, and you also give us the gift of infinite joy. Give me the strength to move forward on the path you've laid out for me. Guide me towards better health, and give me the wisdom to identify those you've placed around me to help me get better.  In your name I pray, Amen."

The part that says, "I am lost, but I am singing."  To me that means that there is hope within us, because when we are singing, our voices ring out and carry a good ways.  To me it means that we have not given up and will fight the good fight.

So today, let's celebrate our special friends, the ones who stay with us through it all and always find us when we need them.

Have a wonderful day -- another hot one, but apparently possible stormy one.