I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and there have been many happy times. My current happiness level is due to many factors but one of the major contributors is my wonderful friend, Corinne, my BFF. Corinne is the support I need in my life.
I met Corinne over 20 years ago at work when we worked in the same department. We started going to lunch every Monday. Even after we left those jobs we continued going to lunch almost every Monday for what I would estimate to be almost 1000 Mondays. What I loved about those lunches is that we did not use them to complain, sure we vented once in a while, but mostly our conversations were very uplifting. We encouraged each other, we solved problems, we supported each other to be more spiritual, we edited my booklet, Live Kinder, and most importantly Corinne would never let me spiral downward.
We are like Oprah and Gayle. If we were asked, “Which one of you is Oprah and which one of you is Gail?” we would probably analyze the question for an hour and come up with four or five different scenarios. That is what we do, we look at the possibilities.
Corinne has helped me in many area of my life but the main reason I am indebted to Corinne is the support she gave me when my son died. I absolutely do not know what I would have done without her. She was there for me when my son was diagnosed with stage four cancer, through the seven months of up and downs that led to his ultimate death. She helped me get through the awful hate mail I received for expressing my spiritual beliefs. What would I have done without Corinne?
She helped me with his Memorial Service including creating the most beautiful remembrance videos and baking wonderful desserts. She was by my side for the first Anniversary of Brian’s death Tribute my wonderful daughter-in-law had to commemorate his angel day. Most importantly, she also made sure that my life moved on, that I did not define my life by my son’s death. It is easy to be a good friend during good times, not so easy during sad times.
She also helped me map my brain to my new reality. She gave me a way to incorporate my son’s memory in my new life without him being there physically. She designed the beautiful necklace, shown. “B” is for Brian but turn it on its side and it is a heart.
It is embellished with a diamond that had a previous life as one of Corinne’s earrings; making it such a personal treasure. It also has leaves symbolizing my son’s love of nature. I just love the symbolism, especially the heart symbolizing that Brian’s love is always near. When I wear that necklace, I am always grateful that I have both Corinne and Brian in my life.
One of my favorite Oprah quotes is, “Surround yourself with people who are going to take you higher.” That is what Corinne did and does for me, she takes me to a higher better place where happiness lives. I am so grateful to have Corinne, as my BFF and my soul sister in my life. We now live in different states but we still connect every day.
Discussion point: How do you spend your times with your friends; complaining or supporting them so they can go higher? If you spend over 1000 hours with your friend, what would you accomplish?
