It’s with a sense of loss that I write this post today. \u00a0Joy, 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. \u00a0I’m so glad I was able to share with her my love and blessings for a smooth journey. \u00a0I’m confident she had one.<\/p>\n
My journey with Joy goes back to the moment she walked into a 12 step meeting I regularly attended. \u00a0There was an immediate connection. \u00a0I somehow knew we would be best of friends for many years and we were. \u00a0Her name fit her so well. \u00a0Her smile lit up every room she entered. \u00a0And her laugh was infectious. \u00a0Her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, just one month after her retirement, seemed like a cruel joke. \u00a0But she packed a lot into the last 13 months. \u00a0She 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.<\/p>\n
My time with her at the end was filled with memories. \u00a0She was unable to respond but I know she heard me. \u00a0 I reminded her of the many laughs we had had. \u00a0I told her she had an “assignment” on the other side<\/em>. \u00a0It was to sit on my shoulder, watching over my every move. \u00a0I said my mother was on one shoulder and she was on the other. \u00a0I knew that with the two of them guiding me, I’d be safe.<\/p>\n As I spoke my last words, reminding her that I’d see her again, she raised up from the pillow and reached toward me. \u00a0I knew, for sure, she was hearing me. I knew for sure she’d be hovering close by all the days of my life.<\/p>\n How lucky we are, those of us who knew her. \u00a0And how lucky we are if we believe that others are only gone in body, never in spirit. \u00a0I know you are with me, Joy. \u00a0You are still with all of us who loved you. \u00a0And those spirits who were waiting for you on the other side are rejoicing.<\/p>\n Blessings to us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s with a sense of loss that I write this post today. \u00a0Joy, 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. \u00a0I’m so glad I was able to share with her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-family-and-friends-you-and-your-personal-community","category-karens-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n