They buried one of my friends yesterday. She could have been on my list of "Forever Friends" that I wrote about last month, but wasn't. I didn't go to see her a couple of weeks ago, knowing how sick she was with cancer--probably because I want to remember her as the healthy, cheerful person I have always known.
Our relationship hasn't been as close as it once was, but I never had the courage to tell her the real reasons. One was the strong perfume she usually wore, which choked me up in an allergic way, and the second reason was her small fluffy white dog, whom she dearly loved and brought with her just about every place she went. I really hate little yapping dogs jumping all over me (with the exception of Annie). I wonder if we would have been closer if I had not wanted to spare her feelings???
So goodbye friend, Carole. I'll remember the plays we went to together, the visits we made to other women in our ward, your teaching me to paint ceramics and make 3-dimensional pictures--especially the pansies-- (I got one of those pictures at the garage sale your daughter held at your old home). I'll miss not seeing your home decorated for Christmas every year. It was one of the best. And I'll miss the talks we had about men.
I remember when you went to the temple for the first time. I was so happy for you! With our ties to Southern Alberta I wondered if we could be related--I still think we could be. Most of all, I'll miss your cheerful smile and the hug you gave me the last time I saw you.
Until we meet again, you will be on my list of "forever friends" whom I hope to meet again in the hereafter.
Maybe I was wrong to avoid seeing her when she was ill, I guess I should have, but I will always remember her.
