Dichotomy of Life

I lost a friend yesterday. My friend was a librarian. She loved reading, taking walks, and being with people. She had a zest for life and loved to spend time with her children and her new grandchildren. I've never met anyone who was loved by so many. When she retired last November, she was looking forward to spending the next years enjoying her family. I'm so sad that her time was so short. And yet, as we often do, I put that away into a compartment for a few hours so I could celebrate the birthday of my cousin, surrounded by family, and carry on with the rest of the day. Later, when all was quiet, the door to that compartment opened and I had to examine the enormous feelings about the loss of my friend. As the tears slid down my cheeks, I tried to figure out how to fill the hole in your heart where a loved one has entered. The quote I've seen on a card came to mind: "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same---."

How true.