We both knew our friends know the worst about us, but refuse to believe it or remind us of anything negative. We had similar experiences with friends and knew their value as well as their necessity to be honest with us. She always believed friends forgive our shortcomings, and if very fond, they don’t see any! She was right about that, and she valued what that meant with each and every one of them during those last days. Even the time they all assembled at her home on the Lake a year after the reunion to have a “dance” party with her only weeks before her passing. No matter how sick and weak and tired she was, they propped her up in a chair to be a part of the activities. They had asked her husband to leave, to be elsewhere, and they did not bring their husbands or wives, just their friendships as they laughed and joked and danced to 70s music the way they had 25 years earlier when life was simple and so full of wonder. No one wondered anymore—this was real life, no “70s story.” The words were being written and they were willing to finish the story with her and not leave her to chance at the end of the road. Just one more reason why I will be forever grateful for their friendships, and what they did for her then and what they do now for her family. God bless them all.
Excerpts: Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 12
Book One in the Gift Series. Author: Patricia L. Brooks. ISBN 1420818759.
Patricia donates a portion of the proceeds of this book to the Vital Care Hospice of the Straits serving Mackinac County, Michigan, in memory of her sister.