It has been a little over two months since my mother’s funeral. The morning of her funeral, as I was getting dressed, the grief was so very heavy. The only way I can describe the feeling of loss is to say that it was a heaviness on my being like I haven’t previously experienced.
I put on my skirt and black sweater. I went to select my jewelry and decided on my pearls. I always enjoy wearing my pearls so I thought that perhaps wearing them would lift my spirits. My shaky hands couldn’t seem to manage the clasp and Jimmy came to the rescue securing them around my neck.
At the funeral home as the time neared for the service and I would need to say my final good byes, I felt a wave of panic and anxiety come over me. I excused myself from friends and ducked into the restroom for a private, quiet moment. I leaned against the wall, prayed, and took some deep breaths. Feeling better, I reached to adjust my pearls and felt the strand give way in my hands. Thankfully, I grabbed the correct end of the strand, trying to hold it all together, and only a few pearls came loose and bounced around the bathroom floor.
I was in the process of collecting the pearls from the floor when a friend came through the door, “I came to check on you? Are you okay?” I explained and she began to search in her purse, “I have a little bag in here. Let’s put them in it for safe keeping and to keep it together.”
A second friend walked in, “Hey, are you alright?” I explained and she (in her dress) got down on the bathroom floor, crawled around, and found the last missing pearl.
A third friend poked her head in, “Just checking on you. All good?”
As we all exited the restroom, a fourth anxious friend (male-lol) was just outside the door. He put his arm around me, “I was starting to worry about you. You okay?”
It was a few days later, as I took the bag holding my pearls from my purse, that I reflected on the day and I came to realize that my friends are the true pearls in my life.
I have gathered each friend throughout the years of my life. I collected each one perhaps through childhood, school, church, work, women’s groups, the boys’ sports teams, neighborhoods, or in the many different places we have lived. Each one I have gathered, collected and treasured; each one is dear and special to me.
Each friend, like a pearl, is unique and beautiful in their own way. When strung together they make a beautiful collection, just like a strand of pearls.
This collection of friends, like a strand of pearls, is worn around my neck, close to my heart, dressing me up for a better day, and lifting my spirits. My collection of pearls shares the good times, the celebrations, and the hard times.
Like my friend’s little bag, they are here to help me keep it all together even in the darkest times. My pearls will go to great lengths (like crawling on the bathroom floor in a dress) to help me and to share my life.
When I think of the many blessings in my life, one of my greatest blessings is the gift of such beautiful friends. Whether near or far, old friends or new friends, if I see them often or rarely, I cherish each one and each friendship is dear to me. My strand of pearls has a whole new meaning now…….it will always be a reminder that my treasured friends are truly the pearls in my life!
originally written 04/04/2020