Last night, I was sitting on my favorite terrace enjoying the warmer weather when I heard that a friend of mine’s father suffered some sort of stroke. I figured I would send her a message today, checking in with her and offering up my wheels. It turns out I didn’t need to since suddenly a bike pulled up in front of the terrace and there she was, fresh from the hospital in Den Haag.

We sat for a long time together. This was the first time she had seen her parents and siblings in 20 years. It was a big deal. Rightfully so. I spent a lot of time rubbing her back, kind of like you try to soothe a child, while she talked about the whole experience. This kind of experience is exactly why I wanted to say certain things to my father the last time I saw him. I wanted to be sure that in the case of a call like my friend got, I wouldn’t have anything left unsaid that was important. And I won’t have, I’ve let a great deal go and simply said the three most important things that I needed to.

For my friend, who had been dreading this call one day, it has served to show her that at least the most important things are still there, despite the years of distance. That is the love and the connection between them all. That was my advice to her, during this time, stay right in the moment, don’t think too much about the past or the future, just right now.

I’ll wait to hear from her today, I offered to drive her to Den Haag since sometimes Astrid and I are faster than the NS (train). If she is already anxious, then the train is not going to soothe that. With us, she can be safely buckled in with a cup of coffee and the sunroof open and me not talking 🙂

Rocking out to Within Temptation this morning. I know it is a short week so I have a lot to do today so I need a jumpstart this morning. Actually, it is beyond a jumpstart and maybe a good old ass kicking! 🙂