A few weeks ago, I posted about randomly stumbling upon this shirt in a store that had the same quote on it as the pillow case from when Mitzi was younger. Gary unearthed that pillow case and used it to brighten up her surroundings when her world became pretty much limited to being moved between the bedroom, kitchen, and living room. I loved the pillow case because it was not only so Mitzi, but it was also how I felt about getting to be “grafted in” (as she’d say) as part of her “gang.”The store only had a size XS and a S…which would have been perfect to fit my sidekick, but would have needed them both sewn together to fit me! So I just smiled as I stood there in amazement at seeing that shirt, grateful for what I fully believe was just another little post-it note from Heaven…dropped down from my sweet friend (by way of a clothing rack) to remind me of how blessed I was for our paths to cross when they did, at a spot perfectly ordained in time and space for us to each reap the reward of happiness for being in each other’s gangs.Fast forward: I was at another store the other day and heard a familiar voice talking to the checkout person behind me. Without even turning to look over the top of the aisle, I knew it was Mitzi’s longtime friend, Karen. In another perfect ordination of time and space, Karen just happened to also be a nurse for Hospice and was an invaluable resource and truly faithful friend all the way to the very end, advocating on Mitzi’s behalf and guiding us all through the difficult days that are almost inevitable at the end of Alzheimer’s one way road. Not long after Mitzi’s diagnosis, Karen began meeting with her periodically to keep tabs on how she was doing. Once I came on the scene, we kept up those meetings, increasing their frequency as the changes started happening more quickly. I hazard to say that Karen was every bit as helpful, if not more most times, at helping us navigate the disease progression than Mitzi’s doctors were.I motioned to the check out woman to get Karen’s attention and then dodged the other customers in the line to close in on the giant hug I knew would be waiting for me. (Karen is as tiny as Mitzi, so to get a giant hug from her is really quite a feat!). After we exchanged hi-and-how-are-yous, Karen said, “Oh! Follow me out to my car. I have something for you…”I followed her out to the car and she handed me a padded mailer envelope. One of the things I love most about Karen (and Mitzi did, too), was that there is no pretense about her. She’s pretty straight-up, tell-it-like-it-is, and no frills about a lot of things. That came in handy because she would always answer Mitzi’s questions (or mine, or Gary’s), with a candor only experience can give you, but with a measure of heart that only a true friend would be able to muster. Anyway, Karen mentioned that the gift wasn’t officially wrapped, but made no apologies for that and I was grateful. Truly, I just love that she is so easy going like that. When I opened the package, there was this perfectly purple shirt with Charlie Brown and the gang, complete with the perfect quote from Mitzi’s pillow case.I stood there in the parking lot holding that shirt as the tiny lump in my throat quickly turned into a smile. I thought about how much Mitzi must have been enjoying setting all of that up and then watching from her front row seat as two pals from her gang stood there, remembering their friend who might have forgotten how to remember but who would never, ever be forgotten…????
