My friend, Joy, has passed on . . .

It’s with a sense of loss that I write this post today.  Joy, whom I spoke of in an earlier post, ( a very dear friend of 30 years) died at 3:30AM on February 14th, a mere 12 hours after I had left her bedside.  I’m so glad I was able to share with her my love and blessings for a smooth journey.  I’m confident she had one.

My journey with Joy goes back to the moment she walked into a 12 step meeting I regularly attended.  There was an immediate connection.  I somehow knew we would be best of friends for many years and we were.  Her name fit her so well.  Her smile lit up every room she entered.  And her laugh was infectious.  Her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, just one month after her retirement, seemed like a cruel joke.  But she packed a lot into the last 13 months.  She took her two daughters to Greece; she took many small trips to Minnesota’s north shore; a trip to Naples to be with me and lots of hours and movies with her three grandchildren.

My time with her at the end was filled with memories.  She was unable to respond but I know she heard me.   I reminded her of the many laughs we had had.  I told her she had an “assignment” on the other side.  It was to sit on my shoulder, watching over my every move.  I said my mother was on one shoulder and she was on the other.  I knew that with the two of them guiding me, I’d be safe.

As I spoke my last words, reminding her that I’d see her again, she raised up from the pillow and reached toward me.  I knew, for sure, she was hearing me. I knew for sure she’d be hovering close by all the days of my life.

How lucky we are, those of us who knew her.  And how lucky we are if we believe that others are only gone in body, never in spirit.  I know you are with me, Joy.  You are still with all of us who loved you.  And those spirits who were waiting for you on the other side are rejoicing.

Blessings to us all.