More than 40 years ago now.
She watched the girls while I visited
Him in the hospital.
She cried with me when he died.
She took my broken little family
Under her wing until we could
Function again.
We began walking together in our
Neighborhood before the sun came up.
Once on a blustery winter morning a
Policeman stopped us.
"There's no school today," he told us.
We still laugh at his mistake.
We walked at Sharon Woods too.
A ferocious thunderstorm closed in on
Us one day.
The sheets of rain blinded us and the
Lightning bolts struck so closely we really
Thought we might die.
But God spared us to walk again.
Those walks were our lifeline.
If I was down, she perked me up.
I did the same for her.
Sometimes we prayed as we walked,
And our friendship deepened.
When I turned 40, she surprised me with a
Party.
It seemed like everyone was there, even
Pastor Jim.
When I saw the crowd, my knees began to
Buckle.
But she held on to me and I stayed upright.
And that's how it's been all these years.
She's held onto me through death,
A clinical depression, and too many
Disappointments to count.
And she's cheered for me too, when my
Book was published, when my
Grandbabies came, when God sent me
A new husband.
I know how to be a good friend because
She showed me.
We can't walk anymore because our
Bodies protest.
But we can talk on the phone.
And we can still pray.
And now my dear sweet Alice is a
Widow too.
I didn't want her to share that
Experience with me.
For sure, nothing will ever come
Between us, except, perhaps, death.
But even then, it won't be long till
We'll be together again, forever.
And we'll pick up right where we left off.
There will be no tears, then, only cheers.
And we will dig out those walking
Shoes and head for the nearest park.