Thirty Seven Years

My day started with a trip to the eye doctor.  Yay!  I get to get new glasses.  My old ones just don't like to stay on and I'm so afraid to bend them.  They can only withstand that so much and they have been bent a lot.
Then I went and visited my friend Karen.  She knew exactly how long we knew each other.  Next month is 37 years.  Some people come into your life and stay.  She is one of those for me.  We both worked at a restaurant way back in 1980.
We were roommates for a summer.  I remember her youngest son being born.  I remember when her oldest son caught her house on fire.  I remember her wedding.  She was my insurance agent and taught me a lot.
We reminisced about the bottle of tequila she bought me and my dad having a little chat with her.  And about how he kept on eye on us after that.
We talked about life and death and how she is sometimes just waiting to die.  Open, honest, brutal.  We talked about Dave.  We talked about Sam. We talked about Darius, her grandson and the path he was on.  Like the path my son is on. We talked about kids and cats and her dog Sammi.  We did our usual comparison of rental properties and all the fun they can bring.  We talked about family.
A conversation in the important things and the mundane things.  We touched on people who have died who have visited us.  I wasn't sure if she was going to be receptive to that, but she was.  It was an ordinary conversation and an extraordinary conversation.  Two friends being connected.  We never know when this worldly connection will end, but today it did not.  She is my friend and I'm glad I pushed for the time to see her and that she was awake.  I hope I didn't wear her out.  I didn't intend to stay as long as I did, but it felt important.