Our Story - Part Ten

A special time for Cheryl and me was seeing parts of "our story" in print about thirteen years ago. A Dallas newspaper was soliciting friendship stories for a special upcoming article. I immediately wrote about our friendship. When the article arrived, Cheryl saw it first. "They printed our story!" she exclaimed over the phone. "Our friendship is in the paper!" I grabbed my newspaper and turned to the Living section. We weren't the featured friends, but they had printed several paragraphs about us from my submission. Cheryl kept a clipping of it in her wallet for many years. It may still be there.

When Cheryl married Sid, she became the mother of his two small boys. Those boys are now teenagers. Through the years she has helped with homework, attended school programs, gave them a place to call home, and most of all, she loved them. I've never seen a "step-mom" so involved and I admire her for it. Her sons have a special place in their hearts for her, too.

One of the greatest things Cheryl has done for me is making a lifelong dream come true. I've always enjoyed writing and finally decided to write a novel. Cheryl's mother, Evelyn Wilson, wanted to read it as I wrote. As I finished a binder - 8 of them in all - I'd pack it up and send it to Michigan. Mom Wilson and her comments filled me with confidence. She began seeking ways to have the book published. She made some inquiries with a friend who had some publishing experience. We never took it any further, mainly because the amount of editing that would have to be done overwhelmed me. Mom Wilson died in 2004, and I have kept all the sweet notes she enclosed with my binders when she returned them.

In 2006, I realized I had the incentive to edit and a burning desire to have my book published. What I didn't have were resources. It was going to take years for my company to recover from a bad time in the economy, and I had to really watch the money. Cheryl insisted that I follow through on the editing and she would take care of the rest. My evenings were spent reading the almost 1400-page manuscript, and making the needed changes. Angela, the family artist, agreed to do my book cover. As it turned out, my novel was too long for one book and it ended up in two. This was another expense for Cheryl, but she wanted to see my dream come true. Simon Says, Books One and Two, went to print. I received my first copy in August. I can't describe the joy of holding my own book! Book two arrived the next month in September, just two days before I ended up in the hospital with surgery.

Cheryl was so instrumental in the publication of my books, and her excitement matched my own. Not only did she want to do this for her friend, but we both felt such a strong satisfaction that we had completed something Mom Wilson had wanted done. How thrilled she would be to hold these printed copies in her hands! And, the thrill for me continues. I'm still in awe of the two books and I think of Cheryl and Angela every time I see them. Other than the three magnificent children I bore, this novel is one of the most rewarding accomplishments of my life.

As "Our Story" comes to an end on my blog, I am blessed that it continues in our lives. There will be new experiences, new stories, new discoveries as the friendship continues. Cheryl and I have wondered what it would have been like had we met years earlier, when our husbands were alive. Would our two Polish men enjoy the same kind of friendship we have? Would our own friendship be as strong without the losses that pulled us together?

I believe it would have been. God used our grief to introduce friends for life. Had it been a shallow relationship, it would have ended once healing was accomplished and our need for each other was over. It takes more than a shared loss to keep a friendship alive and growing. It involves the elements of mutual interests, trust, a certain kind of chemistry, and characters in unison. I don't know what all is involved to make a friendship work as well as this one does. Maybe something just clicks.

I've heard it said that all of us have a twin somewhere in the world. Maybe Cheryl and I don't look like identical twins, but we're certainly on the same wave length. She grew up in Michigan, I grew up in Texas, and yet so much of our lives are identical. There's only one way for two people who have so much in common, to meet and feel the immediate bonds of friendship. It was heaven sent.

I love you, BB. Thank you for your big part in this incredible friendship.

A final poem in loving memory of Chezzy and Tony:

What I'd Give

What I'd give to see your face,

To know again your sweet embrace.

And savor the thrill of your gentle touch,

To have the one I miss so much.

What I'd give to hear your voice,

If only I could make that choice.

If you simply spoke one little word

It'd be the sweetest I ever heard.

What I'd give to see your smile,

The last one's been the longest while.

So many of them were just for me,

Oh, how happy we used to be!

What I'd give to feel your hug,

Your arms around me warm and snug.

And taste the sweetness of your kiss,

These things I know I'll always miss.

What I'd give to see your eyes

Sparkling like the starry skies.

To have you once again to care,

Our love forever we would share.

What I'd give to change the past

And let our time together last.

To have you back with me to live,

My Darling, my all, is what I'd give.

Rest in peace, our Polish Princes, until we meet again.