This morning I received the news that my good friend Bren passed away, after a long battle with cancer. Instead of going on and on about what a wonderful person she was, and all the reasons I loved her, I want to tell just one simple story.
The first time I went to stay with Bren in Maine, for a couple of days, right after a workshop I taught in the area, we decided to have dinner at a restaurant in Belfast (an hour away). We piled into her car, and got about 20 minutes down the road, chatting non-stop. Suddenly she turned beet red and stopped talking. I said, "What is it?" She said, "I'm so embarrassed. You're never going to believe this, but I forgot my shoes!"
We laughed so, so hard! I told her I was so glad someone else did stupid things and it wasn't just me. We turned around and headed back to her house, assuming the restaurant wouldn't let us in without shoes. When we got back, her daughter came out of the house with Bren's purse in hand. Apparently she'd forgotten that too!
After that we always joked with each other - "Did you remember your shoes today?," texting pictures of our feet back and forth from Maine to Oregon. And that is just one of the memories of her that I will cherish for the rest of my days. I love you Bren.
-Carol |
