Shifting Clouds

My friend Mehdi who lives in Berkeley sent me this Nowrooz card. How cool is that? And how lucky can a person get?!

And so, I can already feel the effect of a new beginning with the new year, I am not kidding you! It's as though the clouds are shifting and clearing up around me, some rapidly and some more slowly. It might be because of some interactions I had this week. I talked to some older people this week, those who always help me keep my perspective on life. I have talked about them before, my 70-80+ year-old friends. They really are my friends, I'm not exaggerating! One of them loves the ballet and symphony and politics, and our discussions are exquisite, even if just on the phone all these thousands of miles away, because he is such an extraordinary man. One of them is a beautiful woman who raised her children by herself and is so wise and loving, never bitter, and always applaudes me and my decision to relocate to US to be near my children, validating some really tough decisions I had to make a couple of years ago. One of them is my former mother-in-law, who reminded me of the mementoes and memories of our long-standing friendship this week. They each gave me joy and love in their own ways. There is someone in that group with whom I have a real bond. She is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and struggles with remembering many people and things. Isn't it just amazing, though, that when they tell her I'm on the phone, she smiles and takes the phone? How could I ever take those friendships for granted?

And then there are my young friends some of whom I saw today. They are an amazing bunch in their own ways, too. They give me joy and hope and keep me grounded in here and now, forcing me to focus on all the life happening around me. One of my friends spent a good bit of time updating my profile on an unnamed friendship site today, because that's what is "in" these days and he knows I'm just too lazy to do it myself, never mind the fact that I am probably the oldest person on that site! One of them sent me this card today, and another called me long distance "just to say hi." Life is good and it becomes even better in the circle of friends new and old and old and young. My clouds are shifting because I have true friends and even when I fall, even when my clouds pour rain on me, there are always loving hands which reach out for me and pull me up and put me back on my way again. I know you keep hearing me say this, but I am a very lucky woman, indeed.

P.S. I should take this opportunity to thank those of you who have kindly sent me Nowrooz greetings through email. I will reply to them separately to the best of my limited ability, as there are so many of them. My readers are the other group of my friends who created so much joy for me in the past year. Blogging continues to be one of the most rewarding parts of my life, thanks to all the wonderful people who have found me and who have let me find them. Thank you for the umbrella and the sunshine, you all.