Anatomy of the Heart...

So, why have I given over my personal blog to discuss the progress and give information to my best friend, Frieda Hudson? Initially, it was a choice I made in order to get information out to the public, take the unbelievable amount of questions away from Frieda's family as they digested all that was happening to her. The eventuality is this. I found myself sharing with the readers the fundamental relationship of two friends. It's that simple.
Frieda and I were connected pretty much from the start. We shared all the same interests, we both love politics, we both love music, we both love computers, and many other things, so there was always something to talk about. I realized early on that friendship with Frieda was not something she took lightly. She's a prominent figure in the community. She's seen a lot of folks come and go. I was a newbie here. I knew no one and it was as though she took me under her wing. We have a great ying and yang. We have the same sense of humor. We had dreams that we shared. We had plans to to many things together. We had music opportunities that we intended to work on together. Frieda was a huge supporter of my music. She saw the same vision I have for my work instantly and she made it clear that she wanted to be a part of it. We worked well together. And most importantly, we related so very easily together. We respected and loved each others differences, even though there were truly few. As I said in an earlier post, if I had something to celebrate, she was celebrating even louder. If something was sad for me, she was right there with just the right words, just the right amount of comfort and a perfectly timed sense of humor to bring me right out of any doldrum life had thrown at me.
"Best friends." Cliche? Maybe. But that's ok. We just knew we had a close bond and we treasured it and protected it fiercely.
We will do all those things and more once she's better.
We wanted to write a book together. We'd been talking about that for some time now, because we believed we could do it and make it something GOOD for people.
Frieda is someone who is totally trustworthy. I knew that what ever I wanted to share with her went no further than my mouth to her ears. You don't find that so much anymore.
Now, as I post this, I realize that I'm willing and able to be her mouth, her ears, her arms, her legs and whatever else it takes to HELP her get back to where she was before the stroke. I know Frieda trusts me. That is an honor. Frieda isn't the kind to just start "trusting" someone. I am. I've been burned by that too. She has shown me that even that is ok. It's ok to give people the benefit of the doubt and if by chance I'm let down, drop back five and punt. Something even better is waiting around the corner.
I had lived a life in the music business. I never knew if someone truly wanted to be my friend or if they simply wanted to know someone I knew in the business or whatever. None of that mattered to Frieda. She was my friend and there were no hoops to jump through.
As I have said, we've been inseparable for a long time now. We discuss our daughters, our disappointments in life, our joys, what's new on the Mac scene, getting ready for when the new Leopard operating system was to come out...just stuff. Other times, we could just sit and really not talk about anything.
A big trip on Saturday is to the Ace Hardware in Bayboro, on to all the thrift stores, lunch at Charlies and perhaps a cruise to the grocery to see what we might want to scare up for dinner. Wayne, Frieda and I talked about vacations to take together, how we all have too much on our plates, how nutty people can be and why others don't just stop and ENJOY life. Yet, with schedules, it was hard for Frieda to do that. I am so proud that she has always found solice here at our little farm. We watched movies. We enjoyed good cups of coffee. We loved cooking a great meal and enjoying it together and topping it off with homemade ice cream.
It's all so simple, so benign, but it worked for us.
I know we'll have those things back one day and I will continue to coach her along, bring back memories and even manage to make some good ones from this experience that we are going through together.
For all you readers, I thought about it today and wanted to post the lyrics to a song I wrote a while ago. It is called "Friends." I hope these lyrics will touch your heart, give you pause to think about your own relationships and nurture them accordingly. I miss our "normal" way of life and I'm confident that those times will return, but for now, I owe my friend my commitment to help her get her body restored and her health back to where it should be. Forgive me for this being long, but I want you to understand that I had no idea what I was writing when I wrote this song, I just knew it was important. And now more than ever, my own words touch my own heart. (*Wink! Don't try to steal it! It's copyrighted! GRIN!") If you want a copy, I'll be glad to send an mp4 to you free of charge. It's on my CD titled "It's a Beautiful Life." But, because you've all be so kind and wonderful readers and supporters of Frieda, I'd like to offer this to you as a little gift. Just email me and ask...and I'll gladly forward it to you. Thanks for sharing this journey with Frieda and me.
"Friends" ( by Anne Haley)
1. If I had to leave today, knowing I'd be far away when the world spun round another morning bright.
I would simply smile and say, "I wouldn't have it any other way and I'd make my way into the Light."
(And I'd thank you, my friend. We've crossed a thousand paths and found ourselves together in the end.
And if ever I could have the chance to do it all again, I'd take the long road, with you, my friend.)
2. Life is short and bittersweet and often times so incomplete, though we sometimes place the burdens on ourselves. I've learned to take the time to grow, to really let my feelings show, give away some love and brighten someone else.
(And I thank you, my friend. We've crossed a thousand paths and found ourselves together in the end. And if ever I could have the chance to do it all again, I'd take the long road with you my friend.)
I'd take the long road, the long, long road...with you my friend.
This is an abbreviated version, but I think the message is clear. Reach out to your friends. Even if it has been a long time, even if you have had a fight. Even if you think it has been so long that you think it's not worth the effort.
Trust me, when it comes to a time that you are faced with the fact that you may NEVER get the opportunity to say all the things you wanted to say, do the things you wanted to do together, etc. Taking that step is much easier than living with any regret.
That's all for tonight. Just wanted to offer food for thought.
Thanks for stopping by! Always good to hear from you.
And keep cheering on Frieda!! She said, "I CAN DO THIS!"
If she can, WE can!

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