A Forever Friend

Have you ever had a lifelong forever friend and didn't appreciate it until you were grown? I have one of those friends.

I have lived in my neighborhood almost all my life. I had a friend, Betty Jo, all through my childhood. We played together and could talk to each other about anything and trust that it would go no further. As a teenager, I was really distraught with things that had happened and Betty Jo was always there to put me back together again. She listened to all my problems and tried her best to ease my pain.

Then we grew up, got married and went our separate way. We have seen each other because her Mom still lives in my neighborhood. But it's one of those things where the normal daily routines of life make you forget some things that you shouldn't forget.

It wasn't until my Mom died in 2003 that I realized how important Betty Jo's friendship was to me. A week after Mom died Betty Jo left a card in my mailbox that told me how sorry she was and had she known, she would have been there for me. And that's when I realized that she has always been there for me.

When my brother, Buster, died in October of last year, she came to visit and once again tried to comfort me. And I did tell her how much she meant to me and thanked her for being my friend. I think sometimes we take people for granted and don't remember to tell them how much they mean to us. We talked for a long time and it fealt good to be with a true friend.

A few months ago Betty Jo called and asked if she could come down. She had a gift for me. Well never in my wildest thoughts could I have imagined what she made me. She made me a beautiful stained glass window picture in remembrance of Buster. I didn't even know she worked with this but she does beautiful work. It's an angel looking down and when put in the light it glistens.

My family has tried to help me with my losses but somehow Betty Jo brought a sense of peace that no one has been able to. Maybe it's because she is my forever friend. I only hope that I have in return been as good a friend to her as she has been to me.

So if you have a forever friend that has been there to help you through troubled times, be sure and let them know because you never know when it will be to late to tell them.

I would like to share with you a picture of the awesome stained glass picture that she made me and I hope you all have a forever friend that can help you through your troubled times. Until next time...