One of the songs I find myself singing or humming is from The Sound of Music “These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.” Since my February theme was about things I love, I am taking a bit of license to change this out to “These are a few of my Favorite People.”
This
post is bittersweet. I’ve two long-time friends, women who’ve been a part of my
life for decades. Michele and I’ve been friends well-over forty years. Judith
and I are coming up on the thirty-eight years from when we met.
Although
both have been integral parts of my life for years, one now has significant
memory loss. Judith and I met in July 1980 in Houston, TX at The William
Glasser Institute conference. She still remembers me but so many of our shared adventures
as well as some of her own traumatic life events are lost to her.
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| Hell, Cayman Islands |
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| Bled, Slovenia |
No longer does she remember our adventures in The Cayman Islands (we went to Hell), nor does she remember our trips to Croatia and Slovenia much less our driving tour in Ireland (3 flat tires). If I bring up our time in Ireland in 1994, she does seem to remember bits and pieces. However, it isn’t a memory she brings up on her own. Even some of our 1980 memories are gone like our trip to Hell and killing a cockroach in a definitive and no nonsense manner.
Shocked?
That was me. I’d never seen a cockroach and actually am responsible for its
death because I asked her to come see what bug was in the bathtub. My
peace-loving, quiet, staid friend had her shoe off and whacked that bug until
it was smashed. Then she washed it down the drain.
I’d
never seen her raise her voice much less engage in an act of violence before
then and I’ve seen nothing like that since. My memory of that event brings a
smile to my face. We had some good times!
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| One of our favorite views |
All
relationships that last over forty years have their challenges and ours has not
been immune to them. We were both single when we met although I was a single parent. The year we were so involved in the Personal Growth workshops, he spent the
school year with his dad. We've shared a similar spiritual path.
She
married. I didn’t.
She
moved. I didn’t.
We
both worked, changed jobs and supported each other through the difficulties
that come when working in mental health and social services. We both understood
and understand that humans are capable of boundless generosity and unfathomable
cruelty.
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| Buffalo is the middle drum |
Both
of these women have transformed my life in so many ways. Their unflagging
support through all my ups and downs, their encouragement as I delved into
writing fiction and now non-fiction and their unconditional love has made my
life’s journey easier.
Who
do you have in your life that has “been there” for you no matter what?
My first non-fiction book, Staying Sane in a Crazy World is
available at your favorite e-retailer. By
following the simple process outlined in this book, you can create your own
personal staying sane plan when the world around you goes crazy.
Do
you ever feel as if the world around you is tumbling out of control and there is nothing you can do to make your world a better place?
Do
you ever wish there was?
Staying
Sane in a Crazy World may help guide you toward stopping the tumbling and
choosing how to take effective control of your life.
The
reality is there is no One answer that fits all but we each have Our answer.
In
this short guide, Judith Ashley leads you through a straight-forward process
that allows you to find Your answers. Answers you’ll use to craft a Personal Staying Sane Plan that will
help you regain and keep your balance whenever the world around you is
out-of-whack.
© 2018 Judith Ashley
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