My Soul Mate

The door bell rang last night after dark. That is a rare occasion. Most of the people that come to our home, walk in and yell something that identifies them. Ken was in his chair eating a piece of watermelon and I was at this machine writing my daughter, Jennifer. Neither of us got up, I'm not sure what we thought except that we were both busy and the other would get it. Finally, when no one got it, the door opened and in walked our very good friends, Bud and Bernice. Bernice has been my soul mate for many years (until she retired with her husband and they went on the road traveling ALL the time). Winters are spent in Texas and summers? Well, they are supposed to be spent here with those who love them. Doesn't happen that way, though. They left sometime around the end of July and just returned yesterday. Missouri, Colorado, Vancouver, Alaska, Lynden, Alberta.......on and on it went for nearly six weeks. They have finally returned home. There was a time in our lives that we couldn't go a day without seeing one another (Bernice and I, that is). Our families were so tight that we played cards a couple of nights a week and then because our children would be asleep on various sofas, we would curl up somewhere and sleep at that particular house. Our kids loved Bud and Bernice so much and still do. Their kids and ours were best friends. Looking back, our togetherness was a little crazy. During the day, the ladies spent time together caring for our kids and tackling various kinds of projects. There wasn't anything I held back from Bernice and the reverse was probably true. As our families have gotten older and grandchildren have come, we see each other much less. However, when we do see each other, old times return and we talk ourselves out and love every minute of it. Last evening, they said goodbye several times and then would sit again as one of us would remember something we hadn't shared. Hopefully, we will have a few more precious evenings before they return to Texas for the winter. It was always our hope and prayer that we could spend more time together after each of us retired. It isn't looking real good for that to happen. We both have our greater families and have different interests and involvements. I thank God for Bernice in my life and for the way she has been a support to me. She is a few years older than I and I always saw her as many years wiser. She taught me many things about being a mom. The greatest lesson she taught me was to be demonstrative with my affection toward my kids. My parents weren't particularly physically affectionate with us even though they were wonderful parents. (My dad is very affectionate now) I think it was the time and that wasn't thought to be appropriate or healthy. Bernice taught me differently and I am grateful for that every time I put my arms around my kids or grandkids. Bernice is one of the most loving people I know. I owe her a lot and even more to the God that brought her into my life.