Within the past few weeks, three friends have died. \u00a0The first one was the elderly mother of my best friend. \u00a0I had known her for many years, of course. \u00a0And while it was true that she had many health challenges, and deserved to be quietly at peace; it was still with great sadness that I said my good byes. \u00a0I would have to say that I felt even greater sadness for her family. \u00a0Even though, they, like all of us, knew Audrey deserved to be free of her frail, restricted body, her tenderness and gentle spirit had remained very much alive until the very end. \u00a0Many fond memories will comfort me. \u00a0Much like the ones that will comfort her family.<\/p>\n
The second death was a man I had known from the rooms of AA for more than three decades. \u00a0He was a good friend to my husband too. \u00a0In fact, Joe had had lunch with Tom two days prior to his death. \u00a0He had suffered a stroke but was doing reasonably well, or so we thought. \u00a0He had returned to meetings and lunching with friends. But death came for him any way. \u00a0We all heard the sad news a day or two later when another friend went to his home to seek him out. \u00a0Like with Audrey, it appeared he had had a peaceful passing. \u00a0He left no family behind but he did leave a crowd of loving friends. \u00a0Hundreds of them, in fact.<\/p>\n
My husband’s family will especially miss him. \u00a0He had been “adopted,” more-or-less by the Casey’s many years ago. \u00a0He was always invited to the family celebrations, holidays, and special events of any kind. \u00a0And he always came. \u00a0It’s with great joy that I consider him one of my “angels” on the other side. \u00a0I’m convinced he likes that “assignment” too. \u00a0It’s one that will allow him to continue “coming”<\/em> to the family gatherings.<\/p>\n The third death I want to acknowledge here is of another man. \u00a0His name was Ray. \u00a0I met Ray within weeks of my getting sober. \u00a0We worked on a committee together that was organizing the big Thanksgiving celebration for people in recovery. \u00a0It was an annual event and I was thrilled to be getting involved with a group of fun-loving people. \u00a0Ray was particularly kind. \u00a0He had been sober 3 years already when I met him and that seemed like an eternity to me.<\/p>\n We remained in touch throughout my recovery. \u00a0I saw him often, particularly in the early years. \u00a0It was always a special meeting when our paths crossed. \u00a0Unfortunately, Ray had a lot of depression in his life. \u00a0He had served in Vietnam and suffered from PTSD. \u00a0Even though his own life was often sad, he helped hundreds find a seat in the rooms. \u00a0And then he gave up his own seat. \u00a0It was a sad ending for Ray but I hope a quietly, peaceful one. \u00a0He will be missed by hundreds. \u00a0Perhaps thousands. \u00a0He had volunteered at Intergroup for most of his own recovery. \u00a0I have a feeling he is still guiding many of us “from the other side.” \u00a0I would be honored to think he might choose to be a guide<\/em> for me. \u00a0His heart always led him. \u00a0I imagine that may still be true.<\/p>\n I wish all three of you a safe journey.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Within the past few weeks, three friends have died. \u00a0The first one was the elderly mother of my best friend. \u00a0I had known her for many years, of course. \u00a0And while it was true that she had many health challenges, and deserved to be quietly at peace; it was still with great sadness that I […]<\/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":[8,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings","category-what-i-believe-you-and-your-higher-power"],"yoast_head":"\n