Friends

This past week, I said good-bye to my dear friend.  She is moving away, pretty far away.  I have known her for 20 years and at times she has been my friend, my second mom, my fellow enabler, my sounding board and at one time my co-worker.

She is the same age as my Mom would have been and I always compared her to my Mom.  Where my Mom was old, she was young, never once would you consider her to be old.  I looked to her and would say in my mind, I hope to be like her when I am her age, heck, I wish I was like her now.  She is adventurous and loves to travel.  She, at the drop of a hat would go to Africa and China if she could.

Most of all, she is a generous woman.  Every New Year's day she would have a little get together for our group and some other fiber friends.  She would have a little lunch for us and we would knit the first day of the new year among friends.

We can never quite remember when our little group started knitting together.  We can remember it was when a little shop in Chilli was open and right before they closed but we cannot just come up with the exact year.  Lets just say its been more than 10 years.

When we moved to several places and finally decided the open world was not for us and that we wanted a little more intimate group, she opened her house to us every Thursday.  I would pick her up and we would go to dinner and then back to her house to knit with our little group. We have solved a lot of world problems, family problems and knitting problems.  We can be open and honest with each other and we can laugh at each other most of all.  Oh, how we have laughed!

I have been really good until I just right now when the magnitude of the loss is hitting me.  Sure, we will email, and will on occasion talk on the phone, but it will not be the same.  This is the end of something.  Even though, our little group hopefully will go on.  We may pick up some new friends, but it is just not going to be the same.

All of a sudden, I am feeling very old (I'm not really that old) and I like my friend do not like it.  Not one little bit.  And I don't like changes like this.  I want life to go on as it has.  And it is not!

But, in the fashion of my dear friend, I will buck it up and say that this is bashert.  I'll miss you terribly and think of you often and hope that this new adventure for you brings you better health, new friends that knit and many years of knitting at the beach!  I love you!  Keep in touch.