Once a week I babysit for 3 three year olds. One of the little girls is extremely imaginative. I’ll call her “Libby” when I speak of her. Not long ago, the other two kids didn't show up. I got Libby all to myself. We had a blast and played hard. Since there weren't any other children, we also had the opportunity to talk to each other without interruption. She asked me all kinds of questions, she wanted to know if I had any little girls. "My little girls are grown up and big as me now." "Well, do you have a Mom?" she asked next. "Yes, I have a Mom. But she isn't alive anymore." Libby looked confused so I quickly said, "But, when my Mom was alive she did really cool things. She climbed to the top of the pyramids in Egypt, then climbed back down and went inside them. My mother rode on a camel and bartered with merchants next to the Nile River. She jumped out of airplanes and played the drums and trumpet long ago. She painted pictures and had a big white turkey as a pet." Libby was silent, in her deep thinking mode. Then she plopped herself against the back of the couch, with crossed arms and a disappointed sigh and said, "mostly, MYYY Mom just goes the wrong way." (I know Libby’s Mom, she’s really cool and doesn’t go the wrong way anymore than the rest of us I think.)
Speaking of going the wrong way, today I felt like I was "going the wrong way" every where I went!! Just couldn't go right no matter where I turned. I had so much I thought I needed to do. Around noon, I took a wrong turn into my bedroom just in time to hear my phone ringing. The call was from a cherished girlfriend I hadn't seen in over a year, or heard from in many months - not since she called to let me know her Sweetheart, The Love Of Her Life, had passed away on Christmas Day. At that time, she had mentioned the possibility of her moving back east or down south. When I couldn't reach her, or find her, I figured she had moved without saying goodbye. So, I was thrilled she was calling.
When I answered, I told her I’d was afraid she’d moved. “No, haven’t moved, just been withdrawn and having a really hard time,” she explained. Today she said, she was reaching out, deciding to come back to the world. She suggested going to lunch and suddenly nothing else mattered. She came and picked me up. She's still in a tender place some moments but she looked great and it was soooooo wonderful to enjoy her smile and laughter again. We are going to go out, she and I, looking for music and a place where we can dance. Both of us need that right now. You can never be ‘going the wrong way', no matter how you got there, when you get to be there for a friend. So glad I wrong turned into my bedroom when I did!!
Speaking of going the wrong way, today I felt like I was "going the wrong way" every where I went!! Just couldn't go right no matter where I turned. I had so much I thought I needed to do. Around noon, I took a wrong turn into my bedroom just in time to hear my phone ringing. The call was from a cherished girlfriend I hadn't seen in over a year, or heard from in many months - not since she called to let me know her Sweetheart, The Love Of Her Life, had passed away on Christmas Day. At that time, she had mentioned the possibility of her moving back east or down south. When I couldn't reach her, or find her, I figured she had moved without saying goodbye. So, I was thrilled she was calling.
When I answered, I told her I’d was afraid she’d moved. “No, haven’t moved, just been withdrawn and having a really hard time,” she explained. Today she said, she was reaching out, deciding to come back to the world. She suggested going to lunch and suddenly nothing else mattered. She came and picked me up. She's still in a tender place some moments but she looked great and it was soooooo wonderful to enjoy her smile and laughter again. We are going to go out, she and I, looking for music and a place where we can dance. Both of us need that right now. You can never be ‘going the wrong way', no matter how you got there, when you get to be there for a friend. So glad I wrong turned into my bedroom when I did!!
