Home from Yorktown, VA. It felt like a whirlwind – packing up our offices to get ready for the move and closing down our practice—two days of intense work. We traveled through a tropical storm to get there and on the way home a car came in our lane and we almost had a head-on collision. Whew! Our time ended with Dan and I visiting with our friend and my business partner. It has been 33 years of friendship and 30 years working together in York Family Therapy. What a ride. Many, many great years and laughs. A few tough years and tears. Today I walked away having said goodbye to the business, although there is still much I must do. Goodbye seems necessary to get it done.
I also walked away knowing unless God intervenes, in all likelihood, I will never see this man – my friend and business partner – again. So, I said everything over again that I needed to say and had already said quite a few times.
Can I tell you a little bit about this man? His is the most compassionate heart mixed with the most brilliant mind I have ever known. He has always been so giving and I always felt like he gave too much away. He always listened, laughed at me, and gave it anyway.
His mind is something else. He indeed has the mind of a genius…but today he couldn’t remember how to do the simplest of tasks or recall the best of memories. The hardest part of all though was when he told me he knew that he once could remember all of what he can’t today. He tried so hard but it wasn’t there. Trying made him very confused. You could see his despair and I tried to hide mine as best as I could.
He then leaned forward and said, “visiting hours are over.” Haha. I laughed but he was serious. So I prayed for him, hugged him, and told him I loved him and was so glad he was a part of my life. He smiled a little and thanked me for coming and all the work I did at the office. I said that is what friends do, right? And he said, yes. I said, well, then if friends do that, friends that are business partners should do double and for free. He looked at me funny. Did he understand? Hard to say…but I knew he always chuckled when I said things like that because he’s a giver and didn’t want to be outgiven (if there is such a thing).
Some friends you have for a lifetime, and even if your lives change drastically and work goes virtual, when you do see each other, you can pick up where you left off as best you can. The circumstances might be difficult, but somehow friendship has a way of flowing. I thought today’s visit would be hard, and some parts were, but most of it flowed despite circumstances and the hardest part (for me) was walking out that door.
Please pray for him and his family.
a lamp and a light 