All The Way To The End Of The World
9:05 AM Edit This 9 Comments »Cowgirl sent out a mass text last Sunday. We were to be at the recovery birthday meeting last night, no excuses. I knew why. Some others did, too. But not everyone. See? She is a hospice worker. And sometimes someone Very Special comes in and wiggles themselves into her cold hard heart. And well? He is very excited about dying sober. And he was well enough to come and get his 90 day sobriety medallion. And damn it, if someone wants to get sober at the end of their life, then I'm going to be there to support them all the way. If I knew I was going, I'm not sure I'd choose that. I might go the opposite way and just hurry death along a little bit.
And if something reduces Cowgirl to tears, then you know it is Very Important to her because the woman does not cry unless seriously provoked. We were all crying last night. Even the big burly tattooed and mulletted Harley Dudes. Because we ALL know that no matter how much pain it will cause us in the end, we have already opened our hearts and our lives to this man. First of all, he cracks me the hell up. And second of all, he is sincere, and no matter how short a time we will have with him, I will be a better person having had him in my life. I am choosing to love, knowing that loss is around the corner. And that's who I have become in this New Life. No more armor, hoping to shield myself from pain. I choose love.
Those Harley Dudes are going to go read the book with him today. I am picking him up on Saturday because Cowgirl is going to get a tattoo and he wants to go see and point and laugh at her. And for as long as he is well enough, there will be a stream of people taking him to meetings every day of the week.
So. These are the kind of people I call my friends. The ones that love and love hard, quickly, and furiously. Especially when you can't muster it up for yourself. The troops have already rallied whether this man knows it or not, and we will swoop him up and help him soar, all the way to the end.
9 comments:
That is the beauty of AA - the instant acceptance into the fold. Love how you all are helping to make what time he has left extra special. :)
That is awesome.
Wow! What a cool story. This man is reaching the end of his life with all sort of new friends. What a great way to go.
Total awesomeness!
Kate -
Brave. Loving. Sincere. Honest. I'm talking about you girl.
Linda
Love it. How cool to be a part of something that's bigger than yourself. Authenticity is a gift and you (and your friends, it sounds like) have got it.
Bravo!
How wonderful that you have each other in this way. Never alone is a beautiful thing.
When love turns to loss, we pay a steep price for giving our heart. But the cool thing about love is that no matter how much of it you give away, you always find more.
And there is no greater act of love than the simple act of being there for someone at the end. No one wants to face death alone, and your friendship likely means more to him than you'll ever know.
My AA friends are some of the best people I've ever known, because they all understand what it's like to feel alone, and they all understand just how important friendship and support can be.
So tell your friends that I think they're pretty amazing people, will you?
And speaking of amazing people...well, take a look at who you've become, and I'll let that speak for itself.
What a beautiful post...
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