My parents, my brother in law, Robert Williams and I returned to my home in Colonial Point. We had just completed the painful task of choosing a casket for Rich Suhey.
Mike and Diane Russell were in my living room. He had been my friend for many years and his marriage to Diane had given me another dear friend.
"Aren't you supposed to be on a plane to Chicago?", I asked.
Mike hitched his pants (a habit I dearly love) and said "We're not going". It was a true testament to our friendship. And it is one of my most precious memories from that time in my life.
I don't know how it works - this friendship thing.
Sometimes it's because of commonality - family connections, vocation, avocation, children, faith...so many of my friendships have been formed in the workplace or a civic group, at church or Bible study, because our children were friends.
Sometimes it's because of chemistry and I don't just mean the kind that is used when people "fall in love" although I have had more than one friend that I could say was because of the chemistry, but I won't go there.
Except to say that Rich Suhey was my friend FIRST. And this November 18 sentence from Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach describes our friendship and subsequent love story perfectly:
"Friends are people who help you be more yourself...more the person you were meant to be" (Merle Shain).
Rich Suhey believed I could do so many things that I had never had a clue to try -- once I even piloted his boat (with my parents in the galley). His encouragement continues to be one of the driving forces in my life.Please don't think I live under an illusion that Rich Suhey was some sort of saint. He was a man; who made mistakes. It just happens that he really helped me become who I am today.
One of those things is a friend.
About 10 days before Rich died, I was invited to join some high school friends for dinner. We were gathering to support a dear friend whose father was very ill. I hesitated, probably saying I couldn't afford it. Rich's response to me was that I couldn't afford not to go. From that dinner evolved a monthly gathering of those same friends - one that continues to encourage me.
There is no doubt in my mind but that I learned and grew through my relationship with Rich Suhey, including what I have experienced since his death. Talk about the value of friendship...I think I am a better friend because of him.
I so much understand the value of friendship - and the importance of nurturing those friendships. In the same November 18 posting from Simple Abundance... is this statement "friends are the continuous thread that help us hold our lives together."
This blog is already much longer than I normally post so I'm not going to name those friends who are the thread in my life...let's just say one could not find this thread in a fabric store. Unless you found something called - Blend Ship!
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