Better than anything that alcohol or pills or Mary-do-u-wanna could provide, the high I get from my friends is akin to no other, and that’s the one I want to chase for all my life. I felt its intoxicating effects the moment Ann arrived and we sat down to catch up on everything and nothing at all. There was the ease, there was the loveliness, there was the shared history of decades, including the most intense and formative section of life – our youth. Ann saved my life on more than one occasion, providing the one bright spot in a dark stretch of years. She would be the caretaker of all of us, as unfair and unbalanced as that may have been – but the universe assigns its missions to those who can most ably handle them. Ann took care of us, perhaps at a detriment to herself until she had to assume that responsibility as well. Throughout it all, she kept her humor, her indefatigable spirit, and her love of Mondays to keep us all lifted and upbeat, even in the face of terrible tragedy.
Ann has had more than her fair share of sorrow and losses, which makes her buoyant spirit all the more hard to believe, and all the more impressive. She’s lost more people in a short few years than many of us loose in a lifetime, and while it’s left a mark, she still manages to face each day as a new opportunity to begin again. I often think of her when I find myself whining or complaining about the stilly and stupid things, and it gives me a healthier and happier perspective. That’s how the best of friends enlighten us and brighten our lives.
This past weekend, she cast her usual spell of fun and laughter and memories, while we made some new ones, proving that life is for the living – for the present and now. We shall reconvene in the winter, when we need another hit of friendship and love.
