Mid-Life Conversations

To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed -- that can make life a garden.
~Johann Wolfgang Goethe 1749 -1832

This quote came to me atop an email from a friend from seventh grade. Well, the friendship started in seventh grade gym class when we were paired to do a modern dance routine to music. She invited me to her house after school, so with my Herb Albert album under my arm I followed her home.

Since that day she has made my life a garden.

For more than thirty years we have lived in different regions of the country. Her home base is a continent away, so we rely on email and phone calls to stay connected.

She called Sunday to see how Ken is doing. We chatted about that. She and her husband have been traveling throughout the West, so I asked how their trip was going. The news was that Friday evening her husband had a TIA, a mini stroke. He had fully recovered, but for safety and convenience they were camped in a spot closer to the hospital by Sunday afternoon.

He had further tests Monday morning, which showed he is okay to travel but needs further tests as soon as possible. They are several hundred miles from home, and my friend will be behind the wheel of their big rig as they head down the highway.

I called last night to see how he is doing. We chatted about that.

We talked about the things we say and don't say at times like these. We talked about the things we can do and the things we have no control over.

These are the conversations of mid-life. These are the things we have learned. These are the thoughts we share with friends.

Godspeed my friend. Talk to you soon.