The last week has been very rough for me. A friend of mine died suddenly after a terrifyingly quick illness.
Suzanne was one of the first people I met when I moved to the small town in DamnNearOklahoma. We worked for the same company, so would IM each other during the day, just to say Hi, complain, compare lunches, etc. During the warmer months, her and her husband started hosting driveway parties, which helped me meet a bunch of other people in the town.
A couple of weeks ago, I found out she was in the ICU. Then a couple of days later, she was being moved to Hospice care. Last Sunday, I found out she had died. I never got a chance to see her or say goodbye. The last time I did see her in person, we had a nice long talk. One of the last things I said to her was "I love you, my friend".
When I moved last October, we didn't talk as much, though we still IM'd back and forth when we had the chance. Then she got laid off and life got busy for myself and for her and we didn't get a chance to talk. But the one thing about our friendship is that even when there was an extended period when we didn't get a chance to catch up, we could pick up right where we left off, like we had talked the day before.
Suzanne's memorial service was today. (Well Saturday, since I'm writing this at 3am.) There were people there I hadn't seen in quite awhile. I was able to reconnect with a couple of old friends. I got to see her kids. They have gotten so big! I was doing okay thru the service. Wiping a tear on occasion. I even managed to make it thru the playing of Taps (Suzanne was in the Air Force). But when the color guard presented the flag to her 7 year old daughter, I pretty much lost it. I couldn't help the tears streaming down my face, trying to hold in the sobs. (I have tears threatening as I write.)
It reminded me that we need to hug our friends. We need to take a minute out of our days and say "Hi". So....
Hi.
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