| | Talked with my brother yesterday, sitting at a table under some Spanish oaks at a waterfront bar in Ponce Inlet and draining a cold one. Seems after 4 years or so, he's put himself back on track and is making enough money to keep the house and maybe salt something away. He's now a truck driver, getting better at it, and no time to spend money, only to drive that truck. From Georgia to Chicago out to NJ, back to Chicago, out to DeMoines then down to Georgia again via Chicago. Week after week - putting oh, about 20,000 miles a month on the truck.
Seems to be in good spirits after all this. And he is avoiding people. Which minimizes the stress, for sure. Makes me wonder sometimes - that idea about minimizing stress by avoiding people. There is a case to be made for being a borderline hermit.
But then, I look at the major events in our lives, and what I see is how empty those events - both good and bad - would be without the people involved that we call friends.
Most recently this came home with a surprisingly sharp knock at our daughter's wedding - well, our daughter's and son-in-law's wedding to be exact. We had several good friends bail on attending that event. And a three couples that showed up, with a serious appreciation for the event and for being with us for it. Now I had no idea how much their presence would mean to me, until there they were. And it was a positive jolt that still brings some mist to my dimming eyes. I'll always appreciate those people for helping to make a joyous occasion more joyous than I expected...simply by being there. |
| | Posted 10/30/2006 7:38 PM - 14 views - 1 comments
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