Monday, August 8, 2016

Somewhere In Between


There’s a jagged line between real happiness and deep sorrow.
I’m somewhere in between.


Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you she said when we moved back to town.  
Her love and needs pulled our hearts and souls.

She knows how to care for others but not so much herself.
She'd rather talk than sleep, or watch the squirrels play tag around the trees than eat.

I'm somewhere in between.

She makes music for happiness
and I tell stories.
She raised a loving caring son
and I married him.

We've shared our heartaches, fears, and sorrows.
It's something women carry from deep deep within.
We laugh at memories our children gave us,
and pray that we were good mothers.

I'm somewhere in between.

I'm losing my friend.  Her health is failing every day,
and I carry sorrow so near to my happiness that the jaggedness strikes a pain in my heart.

An afternoon escape to Sonic for a corndog and shake, or a drive around Lake Thunderbird gives her time to reflect and remember.

Papa and Mama built a home on the other side of that hill, she pointed to a wooded area.  Mama cried over the dirt floors.

She was somewhere in between.

We still talk about the time she ordered a chicken pot pie at Nona's Kitchen.  It arrived with a baked flour chicken on top of the pie.  She giggled and smiled so brightly that we nearly laid an egg laughing at her delight. She gingerly cut if off the top, placed it on a napkin and took it home.

My friend of thirty-three years is slowly leaving us for a better place.  Her pain radiates down her body, and yet she smiles when we walk into her room.  Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you she smiles. I'm so glad you're here.

I’m somewhere in between.

Donuts and a cup of coffee with heavy cream, or the touch from a loved one brings such joy to our faces.  We forget how much joy can be found in life's simple pleasures.
She reminds us.

Time is passing for each of us. Today is a new day.
The sun slowly spreads the light and the dark fades in the west behind me.


I'm somewhere in between.











9 comments:

  1. Happiness is the acknowledgment of love. pwm

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  2. Letty, this is a beautiful, heart-felt piece. I was there with you all the way through. My heart goes out to you as you slowly lose your friend and mother-in-law. You are a Writer who shows us universal feelings. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you Martha for your thoughtful words. Sometimes it's easy to write when the heart leads us, and other times I just sit and stare out the window watching the birds socialize on the feeders.

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  3. This is a beautiful piece, Letty, so tender. Your writing shows the closeness to your mother-in-law as well as the heartache you are already experiencing about losing her. Thank you for saying this so well.

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  4. That was expressed so beautifully, Letty. I lost my mother-in-law of almost 51 years. She passed one year ago on the 8th of this month. She had lived here with us for almost 4 years as she battled dementia. She was well loved and is missed by so many. Thank you for reminding me of my feelings for her, even though it brought tears to my eyes. COK

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  5. Letty, I loved this one which we all have to go through during our lifetime. Very thought provoking. JR

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  6. Writing from the heart....Thank you for being there for Alleen. jvw

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  7. Well done and very well said my lifelong friend. My heart is with you all. lbj

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  8. Mom, this piece is beautiful,touching and truthful.
    Thanks for always being there to taking care of all us.

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