Halfway There

How would we all live our lives if we knew we were halfway to the end? Would we show up more, be in the moment more, love ourselves and others more? 

On March 9th.. my dear friend, Mary would have turned eighty. As I write this entry I am forty-one and half of the age she was. The last day I saw her was on February 22nd.. the day of my forty-first birthday. She passed on that Saturday the 25th.

Mary showed me love immediately upon meeting her! She came in the salon in pursuit of a haircut.. thinking it was where she had seen a coupon on a bulletin for. I just so happened to have time to do her hair. She felt like someone I had always known! We continued our friendship till she was called to heaven! When she was no longer able to come in for hair services.. I went to her! 

Mary taught me things I needed to know! She taught me to love even bigger, to share how I feel with my kids- they should know, she reiterated my Granny Corz’s beliefs~ that you can’t take a U-haul to heaven. She gifted me so many beautiful keepsakes. I can just imagine her up in heaven.. hanging out and being silly with my Granny Corz! I am glad she is no longer suffering and struggling with chronic pain. I am so impressed how she fought to the end and never lost her spunkiness! 

I must say she was one of the best friends I’ve ever had. She never judged, she related, she shared her wisdom, encouraged me, prayed with and for me, and most of all …believed in me! 

In closing, I can’t help but tell the times over the last year where Mary insisted on being high-jacked from Salina Regional and the first and second rehabilitation places she was at. The first place she called me and told me to come get her. My husband said that we really needed to follow protocol. So the next day, I got another call and she said, “I am signed out.. come get me.” And so that’s exactly what I did. We joked that it was our Thelma and Louise moment! The second place she had Bernie come get her.. when I called to check up.. she told me they were headed to get chicken fried rice because she had barley eaten in days cause the food was so terrible. While at Legends she seemed to be a bit happier. I was able to read her a poem I had written about her while she was there. She held my had and asked me why I loved her so much. My response was, “how could I not?.. you’ve shown me so much love!”

I feel as though I’ve been given a second chance at life, after surviving a life threatening car wreck at the age of sixteen. I feel blessed for every day that I wake up to have another chance! A chance to be happy, a chance to work through struggle, a chance to help others, a chance to love more! I know Mary felt the same! She struggled with her health for a lot of years! Honestly.. she struggled with her health during most of her marriage to Bernie. They were married thirty-three years. I am excited to carry on a friendship with Bernie.. I am already learning more about he and Mary by the stories he tells!

I felt compelled to write this entry in an effort to help others see differently. It isn’t a bad day if we choose otherwise. We must squeeze the good out of hard things!

Any of us may not make it to dinner tonight, so we must live life in a way we want to be remembered!

Cheers to the friends we will meet! And remember to stay Rosy! Yours Truly, Amber