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A Ship of Friends
I am blessed. Many times over. That is what I have focused on as so many wonderful Humans have come out of the woodwork to offer me support and encouragement through what has been a very challenging week.
I have a very strong tribe of IRL friends. Most are former colleagues and our friendships were forged in the hell that was the career of an OR nurse. Many are retired or only work part-time these days. But these women are FIERCE. More than willing to show up with a shovel, tarp, and alibi at any given moment.
I am also blessed with Old Friends. You know the ones? They are the Humans who remember All. The. People. you used to be. They were there for each pain-filled iteration of life. My best friend from high school — AKA My Person — has truly seen it all. And yet, she’s still here. Then there’s my co-parent. The woman I lived next door to for a number of years. We both had husbands who worked off-shifts and ended up raising our four daughters more or less together as one family unit. Their fathers passed in and out of daily life, but she and I were parents to all the kids. She and her daughters still remain in touch with me, even though our in-person visits are not as common as in days gone by.
However, just this week — even more wonderful women popped up in my world. One of the women on my bowling team…
