life never ceases to amaze me. this seems to be the summer for many of my friends to be confronted with health issues facing their parents. the sandwich generation i've been hearing about for the last 20 years is now here. ailments seem to run the spectrum of just needing a bit more help to some very serious diagnoses.
i feel very fortunate. my mom is healthy...albeit a few aches and pains, frustration with dropping things and the occasional lapse in memory. i know, i could be describing any one of my friends or me, but i realize these changes in health, dexterity and mental agility are very annoying for my mom. my stepfather has serious medical issues and spends a good deal of time seeing and speaking with doctors. we've definitely had our share of hospital visits and stays. what i think they'd both agree with is that getting old sucks.
well, unfortunately, life sometimes sucks when you're younger too. and sometimes it's unexpected. and sometimes it rocks the very core of your life and changes it all in a split second. and sometimes it takes everything you have to get back to where you were. but whether you're old and need help or younger and need help, what's important is having your family and friends there with you...being strong or sending strength.
wwcd: just trying to be there
You are, and have always been, the best kind of friend my dear! Kind, caring, strong, supportive and S-M-A-R-T...always with just the right word of encouragement no matter what. And this post just sums that up - you are always there when we need you, even if it's not all that often! xo
ReplyDeletefrom aunt judy
ReplyDelete"just trying to be there".......the definitive feeling at any age. we experience this feeling, this emotion through out our lives. when young we want to be there in a secure place with mom and dad...with our sibling...with friends if we are lucky to have them.
my past experiences of "just trying to be there" was very painful ... my childhood....making friends....parental interaction....sibling heartache.....very sad time.
"just trying to be there" as a teenager was even more painful. my life turned around when I met my husband who as they say "had my back".....was always there, never allowing anyone to hurt me, not physically, but with words, with attitude......it was that time in life, as a young married woman, raising a family, interacting with my parents, relatives, friends, etc, that I was able to truly interact on a level that was pure, emotionally off the charts with self confidence.
an incredible feeling of joy....it took many years to lead up to that time in my life.....it was a magnificent time...I blossomed, I became the person I knew I always could be, but was never allowed to become.....always afraid to offend a parent, a friend, relative.
when time came, and I was able to confront my demons situations that had to be talked about.......wow......incredible, life changing reaction from those I chose to face, changed the future of all these interactions....most favorable, others not so. so be it, I moved forward.
we meet new people everyday. we interact. we choose those we want to have In our "space." we have earned that right. we become very selective. we have earned that right. many acquaintances, but never to be labeled as "friends". friends are special, friends are valued. friends are like family. no time to waste with nonsense. at my age every time spent with a caring, kind, thoughtful, friend that is always there for you is comforting.
that's the space we feel loved, safe, and and so appreciative of every hour of each day that we have each other. parents are gone, children live in another state far away. most of us dealing with health issues, some quite serious. at our age, at any age, we should choose wisely those that we want to invite into "our space".
our lives, our space in time is very precious........respect it, treat it kindly, be thoughtful, love one another.....we never know when someone will be taken from us.
"CHANGE IS CONSTANT.......NOTHING IS FOREVER.......FOREVER IS A LIE.......BUT I WILL LOVE YOU UNTIL THE DAY I DIE"
This is the only constant we have in our lives.........love for one another.