Only the Good...

Last week, a woman we knew when we lived in NJ passed away. I know people who would have written that a friend had passed away, but while we were friendly with Sarah, I don't know that we were friends. But that is just semantics, I suppose, because even though we weren't close, our paths crossed many times, as we lived in the same community and belonged to the same congregation.

There are people whom I've totally forgotten- if someone mentions their name, I can't pull up anything about them at all. But the moment we learned that Sarah was sick, her face, her smile- especially her smiling eyes- and the laugh that her husband talked about at her funeral, instantly filled my head. I could see her walk, the shoes she wore, heard her voice. Clearly, even though I hesitated to call her a friend, and I hadn't seen her in at least ten years, she left a warm, lasting impression and her death leaves me with feelings of loss and sadness.

I suppose you're expecting me to delve into reflections on the brevity of life and the unfairness of an early death. But I'm not going to, not now; there will be plenty of time for that in later posts. Instead, let's smile at thoughts of people who've touched our lives, however briefly, and celebrate the years they brightened and enriched our days.