Friends

There's nothing that can't be fixed- well with the exception of Humpty Dumpty. I love my friends, when I'm having a bad day they help me to see the light. My friend Cindy is no exception. Talking with her about the house and things we've yet to do with it or to it. Those things I complained about yesterday are such petty issues...they can all be fixed, the chrome towel bars can be replaced with brushed stainless ones. Cindy helped me to find the boxes in the garage to those towel racks...who knows I could get more $$ for them at the garage sale with the boxes. I think that what I was really upset about is that I feel that if I'm not in person that the contractor will be cutting corners (he's already proven that). I really don't like feeling as if I have to sit on top of someone to get them to do what they said they will do.

But you know what?...Real friends can talk to one another about silly petty things without them thinking you're a total idiot, LOL! I'm finding this to be true with Cindy, she's a gem! And lucky for me she's going to be a neighbor too!

My friend Susan and her husband David are moving back to the States this summer (I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me). David is in the Air Force and will be going back to re-qual in LA while Susan and their boys are in ND. I've invited them to visit us during the summer, I can hardly wait! I've also invited them for Thanksgiving. I can not believe how close we'll be, only 1 state away! That's so much better than the entire USA and the Atlantic Ocean, LOL! Susan and her husband are dealing with issues pertaining to the Death of David's father, the will his father left and the step mother trying to sell off the property that is being held in trust for David and his siblings. And of course their stress levels are off the charts because they are over seas. Not being able to deal with something like this in person has got to be rough. When I look at what they are dealing with it makes my issues about towel bars, sink faucets and lighting fixtures so seriously petty.

I received an e-mail from my friend René- she read my blog entry about suicides and wrote me a touching letter (René- if you're reading today you brought tears to my eyes). How a parent deals with the suicide of their child...the grief has got to be immense. From what I remember my Mom dealing with after the death of her husband/my father- it was sadness on the most profound level. She tried to hide it from me, but I know that she cried for days on end, but at the same time she made sure that she reassured us that SHE was going no where. My mom has been my biggest inspiration in life. The things she has seen and dealt with through the years...has helped to make her the tough old German lady that she is today. When dealing with the suicide of a family member you feel as if you had failed the person, when in fact they never let you in. I think that if my mother had known about my fathers deep seeded depression that she would have sought help for him. But this was in the mid 1960's, seeing a psychiatrist back then had a stigma attached to it (only crazy people saw shrinks). Nowadays it's okay, seeking help from a psychologist or psychiatrist for insight on how to deal with a personal matter for yourself (or a loved one) is widely accepted. I'm sure that the parents of the young man who recently committed suicide probably feel as if they had let down their son, that they too had failed him. But being human...we can't see into the hearts and minds of others. We have to go on what they tell us and believe it to be true. My other thing to say about this (yes-more of Sandie's words of wisdom here, bear with me) this will probably sound cliché but it's meaning holds true..."Time heals all wounds, great and small".