I have a friend I call DB and she celebrates her birthday for a month! I've always enjoyed celebrating my birthday every day of the week preceding. Each day or evening HC Baker presented me with something wonderful to do. Maybe it was a meal at a special restaurant, an event we would attend, or being with friends and family! Since he died my birthday has always been a struggle. I've tried to entertain myself, get my "social" calendar filled, have my own party (often ended up being the "pity" type), go to dinner at wonderful places or more often, buy shoes.
So here I am waiting to move into my own home. My "stuff" is stored and I have my personal belongings thrown everywhere. My wonderful sister Linda and dear friend CH have opened their homes to me and been so gracious. I am so blessed by my friends and family. And so many of you sent me birthday greetings. As I read each one, I could see your face and remember times we have laughed together. Thank you to all of you who thought of me today. Friends and family are the two most important things we have. A very dear friend of mine reminds me that all we'll leave behind is memories so we need to be making the best ones we can.
I can definitely say this year's birthday was the best one I've had in many years. Something exciting and wonderful happened every day. I met with friends, talked with friends, had dinner with friends and totally enjoyed life. I had never been to the U of L Patterson baseball stadium so I went to all the regional games, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!!!! And to make things interesting we had to evacuate the stadium several times due to weather, quite a few rain delays, and clear the stadium after each game even though we had tickets for the next game in the same seats! And I had the privilege of sitting next to my wonderful friend RB, a former baseball star! I was kept very well-informed about all the actions on the field. And tonight pitching in the game for U of L was Josh Rogers, the freshman grandson of a great friend! How much more exciting could it get?
This morning I went to church!!!! It's been on my "to do" list since I came back to Louisville but I must admit, I was struggling with it. So today, on Youth Sunday, I went. My dear friend Christy went with me. (I needed support!) What a service, and how wonderful it was to see so many friends, young and not so young!!!!!! And I love looking at those young faces and seeing such bright futures written in their smiles. The message was brought to us by two seniors, Hannah and William! WOW! And if you see any of it on TV, I'm sure I'm in the "selfie" William captured! Inspiring message, beautiful music, and the message of HOPE! Exactly what each of us needed to hear!
I've had lots of questions about my dear friend RB. Here's what you need to know. RB and I dated forty plus years ago. Then I married and so did he. As you all know, nearly four years ago, HC Baker died. Nearly two year ago, RB's wife died. Quite by accident, we re-connected and here's what I've discovered. This "widow/widower" thing sucks. And it's hard for many to be able to relate to the feelings of the heart when you've lost your best friend. But what is a blessing is to find someone who understands exactly what you're feeling. Everyone grieves at their own pace, in their own way. Being able to share those feelings eases your burden. And RB and I can talk freely about our spouses. We each spent quite a few years living with someone we loved unconditionally. So now we each have found someone else we can talk to about all those emotions. And boy, it can get very emotional. We're not afraid to enjoy our memories with each other. We can cry with each other. We can understand what the other person feels. And we can laugh! That's what we spend a lot of time doing and laughing is so very good for you. We each have 3 adult children, two daughters and one son, and incredible grandchildren. We talk about them a lot! (If they read this, I can hear a very loud groan from each of them. Then the phone will ring and they will want to know what we said about them! Neither of us will ever tell!) His friendship is very dear to me. So here it is...We're friends writing the next chapter of our lives.
My 67th birthday has been nearly perfect. The only thing I would have wished for was to have all my children and grandchildren with me. And we could have made more wonderful memories!
Today I thank all of you who embraced me, shared your hearts with me and sent your smiles. xxoo
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