Thursday, October 18, 2012

Remembering

My friend and I had been out of touch for quite a while. She lived across the ocean and came infrequently to the States. Although she and I had shared only a few times actually being together, we bonded quickly and continued to keep up with one another through cards and notes.  We shared our mutual joys and concerns, our family news, the birth of grandbabies, our hopes and, at times, our discouragement.

She wrote to me a few years ago and told me that she was having surgery to remove a cancerous growth.  She seemed to feel confident that she would be restored to good health.  I'm not sure exactly when we stopped writing.  Looking back, it is difficult for me to believe that we did.  I thought of her from time to time, but did not resume our correspondence.

Her daughter called yesterday to tell me that my friend had died.  Sadness was my first reaction, of course, not surprisingly followed by a sense of regret.  Why had I not written to her during these past few years?  How could we have neglected to keep up with one another?  Now it is too late.  I want to tell her once again how much I enjoyed our friendship, how funny she was, how glad I am that we met one another all those years ago, how much she meant to me.  The good times we had together, the little gifts and notes, the laughter that so often marked our conversations.....I will remember.  I will not forget her.

The lesson here is an obvious one.  Carpe Diem.  Seize the day, resist the temptation to put off until tomorrow the letter or note, e-mail or phone call.  Treasure family and friends and remind them frequently of their value.  Remind them today.

" She thought how much the death of any one person took out of the world; it took all that person had remembered."  ~ from The Fierce Dispute by Helen Hooven Santmyer ~














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