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I have a few close friends, and all but one of them are from childhood. I've known Hope for about 30 years now; she and I grew up together, along with her older brother & sister, my younger brother & sisters, and with another girl, Cathy, and her older sister. The three of us were dubbed the dynamic trio "back then".
Hope became a teenage auntie when her sister became a teenage mom. Oh how we loved to 'ooooh' and 'aaaah' over that little guy. Seems impossible to me that the 'little guy' is now 21 and preparing for a career in the Air Force!
We had a tight circle, our three families. We've also had our share of heartbreaks. Cathy's sister, two years older, had a baby and then got cancer. She died 8 years ago. My dad died 7 years ago, and now, we are preparing to say goodbye to Hope. She's dying of organ failure.
Her family unit is an odd one, and part of that oddity is that her brother & sister essentially disowned her years ago, even though she is the sanest of the bunch. Hope still sees her oldest nephew and youngest niece, but the other nephew and niece are not allowed contact.
Hope's mom and dad live 6 houses away from where my brother bought his house and is now raising his family. His wife used to walk Lizzie and Bella to Hope's parents' house every week for a visit and the parents just adore the girls. The girls call them "aunt" and "uncle". Since Hope's health has become critical and Holly's joined the family, the visits have stopped for now.
I am grateful that, even as I stand by my friend in her final hours, I can share my nieces with her family. Hope got to spend time with Holly about a week ago and, as only 5 week old babies can do, Holly stared at Hope's gaunt and pale face, waved her hands around in the air, brushing Hope's cheeks, and making her newborn squeaks and even passing out some air. Hope is failing and her memory is weak, but she still remembers how wonderful it was to hold baby Holly for that half hour.
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That's not to say the other girls aren't keeping us busy. My "far away" sister had to write and tell me that this morning, Rue Rue walked into the living room with a magnet from the refrigerator. She handed the magnet to her dad, who is a commercial pilot and not home at least half the time, "Daddy, you haven't seen this in a while so take a look at it now!"
Last weekend, at church, Bella was racing around the sanctuary. She and Lizzie had done a fairly good job at behaving themselves but sitting still for over an hour is a challenge for ME never mind them. My sister was attempting to catch Bella when she decided to take a header off the podium and Bella went down two stairs, smashing her nose into the floor. She earned a huge welt on her nose for that!
I was song leader that day, which means I lead the singing for opening & closing songs. Lizzie was with her parents and grandparents in their pew. I could hear Lizzie singing with all her little heart; she's turning into quite the songbird. When I stood up to announce the closing song, Lizzie yelled out "stand up everyone!"
That afternoon, as lunch was wrapping up at Lizzie and Lee Lee's house, I was holding Holly and my sister was holding Lee Lee when we heard our mom call out "I need help" and there was a huge crash. Bella and Lizzie got there in time to see their Memere collapse on the floor. I don't remember what I did with Holly, but my sister picked up the phone to call 9-1-1 while my SIL calmed the girls down and my brother & BIL helped mom off the bathroom floor. It was a passing thing; Mom was fine by the time rescue arrived but the girls were upset.
The EMTs checked Mom's blood sugar and gave her a band aid, and Mom had twisted her foot, so she kept it elevated for a while. We brought Lizzie and Bella back in to check on Memere. They were happy that she had a band aid to help her feel better. She told Bella that she wanted to try and fall down like she had done but got her boo-boo on her foot, not her nose.
"Silly Memere," Bella said. "I don't like falling down."