Saturday Evening: I met Gail at Calvary Church back in ... maybe 1995 or so; but we didn't really become friends until about 1998--we didn't really know each other until then. We knew WHO each other WAS, but we weren't really acquainted with each other until later. And actually, it wasn't really until 2011 that I got to know Gail on a deeper level, and appreciated the background of what she knew about who I had married in 1997. She was actually quite a sanity-saver to me at that time--because so much of the sadness of what I had experienced was just a repeat of his prior marriage. Gail was close friends with his first wife. Anyway, enough of that.
Gail and her family moved to Muskegon--built a home one block off Pere Marquette Beach (if you can imagine). It was their dream home. Gail and Dan had a really healthy and long marriage (as well as a son and a daughter). Dan was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and lived the last 10-12 years with all that disease brings to a person's life. Gail was able to take care of him, with at-home nursing care, etc. until he went home to be with Jesus about 2 years ago now.
All through my life, God has blessed me with dear "girl" friends. During my childhood, my dearest friend was Laurie. I'm not sure what I would have done without her! She was sympathetic, faithful, kind--and she had a nice family--she lived 2 blocks from me, and we spent so many happy times together. I can hardly remember any negative situations in our friendship. We are not "close" anymore, but we are in contact and have a high mutual regard for each other. I'm not sure I would have survived high school without her.
In college, my roommate, Robbie, became as close as a sister. After 53 years, we are still friends. She lives in Florida, so we only get to see each other on my yearly visits to Tampa to see my brother; but when we DO get together, it's like we were never apart. She is truly a kindred spirit. We know each other deeply. We laugh hilariously with each other. We have precious, shared memories of important milestones in our lives. I love her thoroughly and am so thankful for her.
And ... Karen! I hardly see Karen anymore--she has 8 children and more than a dozen grandchildren ... she is probably one of the loveliest people you could ever meet. Everyone who meets her loves her. She helped me greatly when I was a young mother--we had our children at the same time, and I watched how she loved her kids and how she interacted with them. I didn't have much of an example from my own parents, so I really needed help! She taught me so many kind ways to deal with difficult situations. I love her dearly.
My friend, Brenda, is a gift too. She and I have somewhat parallel childhoods. We can talk about really hard circumstances and understand each other perfectly. She is very kind and ... super wise. I met Brenda in 2011. Had I met her prior to that time, I could have saved $100's in "counseling" fees--because talking with her is the best therapy I have ever received. She understands things that many other people do not. I cherish her friendship too.
But back to GAIL. We met for lunch Thursday (11:30 am) over at Mr. Burger, and never left the restaurant until 4:00 pm. It was such a refreshing time. We hadn't seen each other in a year, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Gail is a retired teacher. I love to talk with her and listen to her. She is one of the nicest people I have ever known. She is two years older than I am--possibly THREE (I'm not sure). Her son is married, two children, and lives in Florida. Her daughter is married to a pastor; they live in Ohio (or Indiana) and have three sons.
Also, when my mom married "Cookie" back in 2007, Gail and I kind of became "cousins" in a step-family, roundabout kind of way. "Cookie" was Gail's uncle (her dad's brother)--so when my mom married him, Gail became kind of a step-cousin. We freaked out when all of that came to light one Sunday morning at Calvary Church. Gail and I were talking after class and she asked if I wanted to meet her Uncle "Leroy"'s new wife. So we walked down one of the corridors and there was her Uncle with MY mother! Newly married! Now, both Cookie and mom are with the Lord--safe and sound, fully ALIVE and well.
I am so thankful for God's gift to me of these treasured friends.
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