Sunday, November 17, 2013

What Would We Do Without Our Friends??


What in the world would we do without friends?  My friends have carried me through the rough times in my life, been with me to celebrate the good, and always overlooks those silly, stupid mistakes you make a long the way.  The couple pictured above are just those kinda friends.  Rich and Joyce now live in Arizona, (they are the ones I always visit when I decide it's time to escape from our long winters) but I met the two of them while they lived in the Chicago area.

Rich and I have a long history together.  Shortly after I entered the corporate world and got a "real" job with a decent salary, paid holidays and vacations, benefits and a 401K that I am most grateful for today and every day, Rich was my boss.  I was his secretary, and those were the days when you typed a letter it was on a real typewriter, long before the days of word processing machines and computers with word processing programs, and if a mistake was made, out came the "white-out", some of you probably don't even know what that is.  And if he asked for something to be typed in triplicate...oh help me.  Anyway, Rich and I developed a great working relationship and after a year or so, he introduced me to his wife, Joyce.  Rich already knew my sweetie thru business, and eventually the four of us began to see each other socially.  By this time Rich had "promoted" me into management and I no longer worked "for" him, so there was no conflict of interest, so to speak.

We spent a lot of time with Rich and Joyce, movies, out to eat, golf, trips together even to faraway places like Hawaii and England, and when they decided to move to Phoenix after Rich & my sweetie took offers from AT&T to retire early, I was devastated.  Our friends that we spent most weekends together were leaving.  In 1990 they left their home here and moved to Sun Lakes, AZ into a lovely home on the golf course. I still miss them alot, and alot has changed over the years, but we have remained constant, steady friends. They were here over the weekend with their primary visit being to another good friend of Rich's that is suffering from pancreatic cancer (a really evil cancer).  They spent time with him at his home, went with him while receiving chemo because deep down they know this may be their last time seeing this old friend.  But between visits I was able to spend time with them as well, 3 different times in fact, Thursday evening, Friday morning and again last night.  They left this morning to return to sunny, warm Arizona and I won't see them again until January or February when I escape to enjoy their warmth.  Seeing them again, spending time with them, being their friend is what I am most grateful for today.  What would we do without our friends?  

"The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing...not healing, not curing....that is a friend who cares." ~  Henri Nouwen

Until next time....



17 comments:

  1. Yes, it is so good to have friends like that!

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  2. hi. Denna. yes friends like that are a gift from God. I know you will treasure them always.

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  3. Friends -- near and far -- are sweetness in life. Prayers for Rich and Joyce and a big hug for you, too.

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  4. What a treasure such great friends are. Hope everything turns out well for them and for you.

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  5. I agree. Finding great friends like that who will stick by you no matter what is a treasure!!!!!
    Glad you got to visit with them.
    diane @ aug's blog

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  6. Whatever would we do without those kinds of friends!

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  7. It's so nice to hear the history behind these lovely people whom I know you are quite close to.

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  8. and the beauty is that you never know where you might make that one great friendship that goes well past the present circumstances, the friendship that sees you through thick and thin. Wonderful you had the opportunity to spend precious time together during their visit.

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  9. I spent 23 years with my boss and started out with the typewriter as well! Even though I've moved away, we are still in contact with each other (his wife is a sweetie, too), and I even work for him remotely sometimes. I don't think he trusts anyone else to run his business. He has turned out to be a gem of a friend, so I can definitely relate to this post!

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  10. Oh..the typewriter. And how about the manual ones, BEFORE electric typewriters! :). Yes, we need friends. Can't imagine life without them.

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  11. Wonderful to have this sort of friend, and they are few and far between. Laughing on the typing. Just as i am really fast on the keyboard, now, my work computer has gone back to a stylus.... has really slowed me down. AHHH progresss

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  12. Yes, indeed. I hope you were safe with the bad weather up there today.

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  13. A nice post for your friends, looks like she knows how to dress for your weather. Great picture of her Deanna.

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  14. Lovely friends and even better when they live in a warm climate....just sayin' :) So sweet. xo Karen

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  15. I have a fridge magnet (the only one) - it says 'wherever you are, it's your friends who make your world' - william james

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  16. It is such a blessing to have friends like that. That's a great photo.

    I hope you are OK and didn't suffer any ill effects of those terrible storms in the midwest.

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  17. Great to see Rich and Joyce and you captured them so well. Friends are definitely something to be grateful for and especially long-time friends like these. So glad to hear you're planning on coming out to Phoenix after the first of the year! We'll have to make some plans!

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