Saturday, March 2, 2013

Unplugged - Winter Author Blog Challenge #2

I am pre-writing this post because I am going to be out of the house before sunrise.

Today I embark on a journey.   I leave on a vacation just as my best friend's mother enters the last part of her journey on Earth.  She is under hospice care.  My friend, meantime can't be with her because her husband was just diagnosed with cancer.  The first indication of his cancer came 2 1/2 weeks after her oncologist told my friend of 50 years that she was in remission from her cancer.  Her mother lives a couple of hours from her.

And now, I am leaving her, because for part of my trip, I will probably be out of email and cell phone range.

Thanks to social media, we take being connected for granted.

On Facebook, we can share (if we want) the most minute details of our lives.  Of course, most of us don't - thank heavens.

On Twitter, if my phone was near a tower, I could tweet my entire journey.  But again, too much information?

Sometimes, quantity just isn't quality.

Why now, of all times, am I unplugging myself?

On my blog, though, I can reveal my feelings.  My writing isn't transitory, the way it would be on Facebook or Twitter.  Because my friend reads my blog, she will know that I will be thinking of her for the entire journey.  It will be like writing an electronic letter to my friend.

Her Mom was like a mother to me at times after my Mom died, back when I was 12 years old.  In those days, telephones weren't mobile.  Mail meant you wrote a letter and your recipient got it several days later.  Twitter was something certain birds did.  Facebook was....well, its founder hadn't been born yet.

Sometimes, we just don't know what the future will bring.  The situation is what it is.  We both will make the best of it.  My friend's husband's cancer was caught early, which is something all of us are grateful for.  There is one good thing in this story.

We may be apart in distance when her mother's journey is completed, but we will be together in spirit.

12 comments:

  1. The final phase in life brings empathy. I wrote about aging yesterday--probably shared too much. I hope that dear woman has an easy transition to a place where we all go in the end.

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    1. My friend's mother passed early this morning. My friend didn't have many details, so I hope her passing was peaceful and pain free. She was 94 years old and the last two/three years had been hard for both her and my friend.

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  2. Best wishes on your journey, Alana :-)

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    1. Thank you also. The blogging community is wonderful, isn't it. I just wish I wasn't almost 1300 miles from my friend right now...

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  3. I am currently supporting, loving... Something to that effect although the words seem wrong... My aunt as she too finishes her battle with cancer, night the way I wish she was either. She was a second mother to me. I think its wonderful that your friends has this letter to refer to during your separation. Good luck on your journey. My best to you, your friend and her husband. (Total side note, my 3 Boys and I are all on three Autism Spectrum.)

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    1. I'm sorry for your situation, and am sending some Hugz your way. Thank you for your support - as I will be blogging about later tonight, my friend's mother passed this morning.

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  4. Huge hugs to you & your friend. Enjoy your holiday.

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    1. Thank you. Today was bittersweet, but enjoyable in other ways (lots to write about in the coming days) and I hope I can see my friend sometime in the coming months, when she is ready for some company.

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  5. Thinking of your friend in this time - lovely post

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    1. Thank you for your caring comment. My friend's mother passed early this morning. When she returns she will probably be preparing for her husband's initial cancer treatments. I will write more as time passes - thank you for your support!

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  6. How super awesome of you to help your friend out in her time of need. The world needs more people like you, Alana! I hope you have a safe journey! WRITE ON!

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    1. Thank you for your thoughts. I don't deserve them, though. I wish I could have helped but... Her mother passed early this morning. Right now I'm 1,280 miles from my friend. Today was bittersweet.

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