Letters

We sat on the side of the creek with our fishing gear. Not a lot of gear, just what I felt comfortable using without my husband's help, since he was at work that day. The baby was in his car carrier on the ground next to me, sleeping peacefully, while I fished with my friend. It was fun to have girl talk in a not-so-girl setting, and I was proud of myself for not waiting for my man to help me. I was pretty sure he would be proud, too. After all, how many men have a wife who is interested in fishing - enough to go on her own? I took a picture of a snake in the water. We caught a few fish. It was a lovely afternoon on that Florida creek. I would have enjoyed the camping trip I missed out on years ago.

The summer after my high school graduation, I disappointed some of my closest friends. I had a boyfriend at the time and I chose to skip a week at the state park, camping with my friends to be home with him. My friends and I had planned that week for a long time, and talked at great length of the memories we would make this last summer vacation before moving on to the next phase of our lives. But I backed out and someone else went in my place.

One of my friends was especially angry. There may have been other things going on at the time that I can't remember, but for some reason she was done with me. She no longer spoke to me, and left for the military without ever saying goodbye. I was crushed.

I didn't give up on her, though. I knew that she was going to need support and encouragement during her basic training, far away from her family. I decided to give her that support whether she wanted it or not. I didn't care if she didn't write back, I sent letters regularly. I never heard from her the entire time. I forget how many weeks it was, but I'm sure she remembers.

There was probably a bit of stubbornness in that decision, but there was also a lot of real concern for her as well. Sometime after she completed her training, she contacted me. We went back to being friends, maybe not as close as we had been before, but we spent time together again. She told me that my letters had been a big help to her while she was away.

I didn't do that so I could tell the story later and look like the good guy. I did it because I truly care about my friends. We had been through too much together to let one big fight destroy everything. There are people in my life now who mean that much to me but they may not realize it. I wonder sometimes who would do that for me. I'm feeling a little bit down today. I'm not sure why, but everything is irritating me and I just want to wrap up in the warmth of my home and family. Tomorrow will be better.