Losses and Gains

It's been a roller coaster lately.  I lost a very good friend to bone cancer this month, but I also had some wonderful times with other friends.  I finished one of my baby blankets, and got a huge portion of the other done.  The yarn for my next baby blanket project has been purchased and I have learned the basics of knitting.

I wanted to share something that I wrote for my friend Fran on her dedicated Facebook page before she passed.  I called it What it Takes to Be Loved

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It's so rare that we ever truly know how many lives we touch.  It's even more unusual when we run into a situation where we are actually able to see how we have affected those around us, to know just how many of our every day encounters made a change in someone's life.

Fran is one of those lucky few.  She has gotten the chance to see just how many people she has touched.  The circumstances are not the best, but it seems that is always what makes people realize how much someone means to them.

I don't think that I even realized how profound and how far Fran's reach was until  my friend Jack sent me a very simple text message.  When he found out she was in the hospital he wanted to do something for her because "she was always nice to me.  Always."

Something so simple; always being kind to someone no matter what, it made the difference to Jack and I suspect many others.

The out-pouring of love that followed was staggering.  A wave of people wanting to reach out and contact her to let her know they cared because she had cared about them.  People that no longer worked with Fran or hadn't spoken to her in ages started asking if they could visit, send flowers or just make sure someone gave her a hug for them.  Kind words filled my cell phone and popped up all over Facebook.  At work even managers reached out to donate food and money.  Cards appeared for people to sign.

I know I was stunned.  It warmed my heart.  I am sure that Fran feels the same and if she had access to this page she would tell us how much it means to her.  Please don't stop telling her how much she is loved.  Never let her forget how much she means to us and that she made a difference in our lives.  She still is.

We love you Fran and thank you for just being you.  That was all we ever needed and all we will ever need.