Bitter Sweet Moment

Something happened to me today that has touched me greatly. I found that one person can touch another person's life in many ways and you may never know. I found one person can love you and you may never know...unless of course one day it comes out in the open.

I was dreading today as I needed to attend the wake of a friend I have known for over 30 years. Of course, we kept in touch on and off through the years, as he married, and then moved to Florida. He frequently returned after his divorce to visit with family and friends and it was those times that we would catch up.

My circle of high school friends have a strong bond, which gets confirmed at each happy or sad event in our lives. We all grew up together, some since kindergarten and shared the many, many ups and downs of life. Most of us still live in or around the same town we grew up in. When we get together, memories of our childhood are always present as are tears from the laughter we share speaking about our past or from the sadness of loosing someone we love.

On Thursday, I received a call from my friends sister telling me the sad news. I have never met his family, but since my number was in his cell phone, she felt I was important enough to receive a personal phone call.

Today, arm and arm with another friend, we took a deep breath as we headed into the funeral parlor. Through blurred eyes, I Looked in. I first saw another friend and we went directly over to him. As we hugged each other so tight, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

As I turned around, a woman said to me..."you must be Andrea"...yes..."I am 'his' sister and I was the one who called you the other day"...I hugged her, expressed my sorrow and thanked her for calling me.

Because I was so emotional, it didn't occur to me at that moment how she knew who I was.

Later while speaking with another friend, we reminisced and I mentioned that our friend (who just passed) and I had been speaking lately. The last time we spoke was a couple months ago. He already knew that. I must have had a surprised look on my face and he added..."HE really cared about you and brought you up quite often" and he spoke of me to his family... that's how his sister knew who I was.

I was stunned that I had touched him in ways I never knew. Such a bitter sweet moment for me. My head reeled from the thoughts flooding my brain.
I wish I knew...
I remember getting this email that contained a list of things 'somebody' might be doing right now. I remember reading it and thinking...ok, it can be true. Well, I found that email and want to share it with you. Today proved the writings of this poem can really be true.

Right Now
-somebody is thinking of you.

-somebody is caring about you.

-somebody misses you

-somebody wants to talk to you.

-somebody wants to be with you.

-somebody hopes you aren't in trouble.

-somebody is thankful for the support you have provided.

-somebody wants to hold your hand.

-somebody hopes everything turns out all right.

-somebody wants you to be happy.

-somebody wants you to find him/her.

-somebody is celebrating your successes.

-somebody wants to give you a gift.

-somebody thinks that you ARE a gift.

-somebody loves you.

-somebody admires your strength.

-somebody is thinking of you and smiling.

-somebody wants to be your shoulder to cry on.

- Unknown

Another angel has been called home...miss you already...