From Leigh

It’s Saturday and another week is ending — the thirteenth full week since Nyel left us.  It’s been a week of visiting and catching up — friends from Astoria, from Seaside, from Seattle, even from Nahcotta and Long Beach.  They’ve brought flowers, taken me to lunch, and dropped by for tea.  Each day has brought splendid remembrances of past adventures and many promises of more  delights to come.  How lucky I am!

From Lana Jane and Paul

And tomorrow — brunch at the home of friends who, though newish in our lives, had already begun to build memories that included Nyel.  It all reminds me of that song I used to sing with my 1st/2nd/3rd graders at the beginnings of most years:

Make new friends
But keep the old,
One is silver,
And the other, gold.

Tuesday, September 13th would have been our thirty-fifth anniversary.  I’m sure that it never occurred to either of us that we would get so close to such a milestone!  How lucky we were!  And how fortunate I am, still.  If you are among the many to whom I  haven’t given a direct “thank you,” please know that it’s a totally unintentional oversight!  I am ever grateful to each and every friend — for your sustaining thoughts, your heartfelt laughter, and for the memories that we are lucky enough to share.