Sunday, September 16, 2007

Follow your bliss.
- Joseph Campbell



Saturday night I went to my friend Eoh's going away party in Greensboro. We met at Lucky 32, this great restaurant that changes menu with the seasons. It is always good and Saturday it did not disappoint. I had the blue cheese and herb encrusted sirloin with mashed potatoes. I had two pints of Guinness which went so well with the meal. Lucky 32 has great desserts but we did not stay there for dessert. One of Eoh's friends, HB, had made 3 different kinds of dessert plus had beer and wine back at her apartment so we went there after the meal. She was the one who organized the party as well. There was 12 at the meal but not everybody came back to the apartment.

I was in a beer mood so I did not have any of the desserts but they looked and every body said they were just fantastic. HB made a chocolate gooey dessert, hummingbird cake and apple pie. I should have taken some with me but didn't and I regret it. Her apartment was awesome, it was the upstairs of an old house in one of the historic districts in town. It has 3 rooms plus a bathroom but it felt much roomier than I am describing it here. I would guess it was 1900s era, it had similar door moldings on the doors as my last apartment in Greensboro and it was built around that time.

It was decided that we all should say something about Eoh as we left the party. I knew I couldn't do it, not in front of everyone. So, I stayed and helped shut the party down. It was around 1:45 when Eoh said she needed to sleep so we got our stuff together and went out the door. She had her hands full of dessert and a picture I gave her and she set them down so we could hug and then it happened. We both erupted into tears and just stayed there in the middle of the road. I knew it would be hard to say goodbye and I will see her in December when I go on my trip to England but I have known her for almost 16, half our lives and even though we do not see each other as often as we used to since we do not live as close to one another as we used to(we used to live around the block from one another)just knowing that she will not be just down the road but across that damn pond really really makes me sad.

All I could get out from the sniffles etc was;

"You used to say this all the time, Follow your bliss. And we will see each other again, we always reconnect, pick up where we left off even years after, just as it was only a day."

And she is, all the way to the Greater Manchester area to be with a fantastic guy and I know they do and will continue to make each other very happy. And that is all I want for my friends. It doesn't happen everyday, so follow your bliss my friend, take it where it leads you and keep searching for the serene, it is there for you.




Don't cry now, don't you cry, don't you cry anymore.
Sleep in the stars, don't you cry, dry your eyes on the wind.

- Grateful Dead

5 comments:

Vi said...

I have that strong friendship with some folks back in oz, and it's true. No matter how many years you spend apart, when you do meet up again, it's like you saw each other yesterday.

true friends.

CrazySpanishGirl said...

that's so sweet and sad. But you and Vi are right. I still have great friends back in the USA, and even though we may spend a whole year without any contact, we will always go back to each other as if nothing happened.

And now you have the web. Facebook, blogs, whatever. It will keep you close.

Jonathan said...

I am not sure what I would do without the web and email. I have friends scattered all over the world and less and less of them nearby let along driving distance. She is the last of the group of friends from college to leave Greensboro, it seems so final and I know it is not. It just seems that way.

Kelli said...

Im sorry jonathan...that makes me hurt for you. Its so hard when peopel that you care about move away. I dont know what I do without AD..if she moved I would be so upset. *hug*

Jonathan said...

Anne - I hope you and AD are never too far from one another. So many of my close friends are scattered around the country and world. If not for the internet, not sure what we would do. I guess lose touch quicker than we are doing now.