Sunday, August 10, 2014

For Shirley

This is a sad weekend. You see, one of my "bestest" childhood friends lost her mom last night. Not a surprise; in fact, her mom's last month included The Great Escape from her winter refuge. She wasn't exactly medically cleared to travel, but she really wanted to go home before, well, going Home. I love that she had one final rebellious adventure and that her family advocated for her to get what she wanted.

My heart is sad. For her husband. For my friend. For her family. And for me, because she's such a sweet lady and she was such a good sport about our shenanigans while we were growing up. You know how it is with your best friends' moms.


Mrs. H, here are a few things that come to mind when I remember you:

You were...

The heart with room for one more.
  • because, after three boys, you adopted the amazing girl who became my lifelong friend.
The buyer of clothes.
  • because every year, on some random day, I would arrive at your house to see an entire new wardrobe in your daughter's closet.
The supporter of summer camp.
  • because you encouraged all our memory-making at my favorite place on earth, and one summer you even included me in your week at family camp.
The preserver of heritage.
  • because you made all those Swedish delicacies, including the only lutefisk I've ever seen.
The enforcer of cleanliness.
  • because you wouldn't let us go out until your daughter's room was cleaned. And you just rolled your eyes when I did the cleaning.
The believer of myths.
  • because you never knew that I wasn't the only one responsible for eating all the cookie dough.
The tolerator of teen sleepovers.
  • because you gave up many hours of sleep so we could giggle all night long.
The provider of sanctuary.
  • because you welcomed me into your home when I needed a break from mine.
The lover of Jesus.
  • because you finished the race, faithful to the end. I look forward to seeing you again someday, wonderful lady. We'll make Swedish cookies for the angels. And I promise not to eat all the dough.
(photo stolen from my friend, but I know she won't mind. This is one of my all time favs.)

1 comment:

  1. Lynne - my dear, sweet friend - no words other than THANK YOU for this lovey tribute. I'll be sharing it with Dad (if I can get him to figure out what a blog is and where to click)... Love you more than every chocolate chip ever put in dough, DebB.

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