Dear Reader,

I am interrupting my writings on Africa to write about friends from my Spiritual Center who came into town this past weekend. We zoom virtually every Sunday morning, and to gather in person together is simply the best of times. That is why I have not posted for over a week. And boy! Have I missed writing! And now that I think about it, the only thing that stops me from writing often one way or another is time with family and friends.

We had a marvelous reunion for a few days, and made some fantastic memories. Friends were in from Texas, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. We went out to dinner, went dancing down by the Ohio river Saturday evening, had a party Sunday afternoon here at Our Treehouse, complete with guitar music, and jumped in a neighbor’s pool Monday afternoon. So much laughter and good times, with lots of photos taken to seal those memories and catch all those beautiful people in special moments of time.

I am such a lucky girl! Old friends were here, and some new ones, too. And I think the best part was all the smiles. Have you ever noticed how beautiful people’s eyes are when they really smile? How easy it is to stay in the moment when you take the time to look into smiling eyes and see the happiness and joy shining back at you? It’s all so contagious, you just have to smile too. And then it’s time to catch up, to hear about the new job, the special relationships, the dreams that came true, vacations, tell a joke, cook together, eat together, tell stories, laugh and talk some more, then turn to another person and do it all over again! Or the times when I just listened to something important a friend needed to share as we quietly talked in a sacred space. Or maybe I had something on my mind and that person listened to me. Isn’t that what good friends are for?

It’s true you know, good friends are a real treasure. When I worked as a hospice nurse, every now and then I would have a patient who had no family or friends. I often wondered how they did it. As the door shut behind me and I walked away from that apartment or house to get back into my car, Silly Tilly, I would ask myself, “How does that feel?”. That feeling of knowing no one would come knocking on your door or give you a phone call, and you would have to wait till a team member from hospice would come and make a weekly visit. Remember that old song by Three Dog Night, “One is the Loneliest Number” ? I often wondered how does it come to be that some of us end up with so little human contact. And who would help with making health care decisions, or help get groceries, or take care of the dog when that patient could no longer physically do that. And who would try to make them laugh, or understand when they needed to cry? For sure, friends are a real treasure, blessings in our lives.

Today, Our Treehouse is quiet, no longer “rockin’ ” as I like to say, when people are in and out. Grandmother Tree is steadfast as ever, the Guardian here for anyone who is observant enough to take notice. I can write as much as I like, actively plan to continue with publishing my book, and work with my second draft on my novel about Jean the Nurse. But it’s a fine thing, to consciously appreciate all my friends, to write it down in words how special they all are, how they all sprinkle my life with Joy.

Yeah, it’s good to write again. And I will be back with stories of Africa, Elephant and Zebra. I promise!

c   Love, Joan