Dear Scott,
I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote you. Well, it
hasn’t been too long if you count the few Facebook messages I sent you, but
that’s nothing like paper and pen, eh? Whatever happened to those good old days
when we took time to sit down and scribble out a letter, even it was only to
get a few words down on paper, stick a stamp on an envelope and leave it to the
Post Office to deliver the message? We
used to do that. In fact I found your
letters to me and read them again tonight.
I have them stored in a dusty old suitcase along with probably every
other letter and card I ever received in the mail. It was fun to read your words again and
remember simpler days when school and part-time jobs were our biggest
worries. You wrote often of your baby
brother, documenting his birth through first steps. It wasn’t long after that we lost track, but
I never forgot your friendship all of these 30+ years. Sometimes I get out the old photo albums and
reminisce about our Mexico trips and reunion parties. Those were some good times with good people.
When I saw you in June I told you how sorry I was you were
sick. We talked about a lot of things in
that short afternoon, didn’t we? I heard all about your trip to Universal
Studios and you listened to some things I told you about my life. I was sure nervous going to see you that day,
I mean, what do you say to someone you haven’t seen in three decades? You don’t know this but I even prayed for the
words to say. But when I walked in the
door and you said, “hey, girl” I knew I didn’t have anything to worry
about. We just picked up where we left
off and that was that.
Another thing you probably don’t know is I felt led to reach
out to you, divine intervention and all that stuff. I thought God must have needed me to get a
message to you, but I think it turned out the other way around. I think He needed you to get a message to me. I’m not sure what that message is yet, but I
think it has something to do with kindness and reaching out to those in
need. Now that you have his ear maybe
you can find out for me and send me a message in a dream. That would be so cool.
I read your sister’s post on Facebook a couple of days ago,
and I knew things were getting worse for you.
She asked your friends to send her their memories of you and well wishes
so she could tell them to you to keep your spirits up. I sent her an email right away because I wanted
to make sure you knew I was still thinking about you and praying for you.
Last night I prayed real hard for you before I went to
sleep. I prayed God would release you
from your pain and hold your family tight during this hard time. Little did I know that you were already gone;
released, relieved, free. When I woke up
this morning I was thinking about you again and reached for my phone for an
update before I even got out of bed.
That is when I knew. I appreciate
your sister sending me a personal message.
That was very thoughtful of her.
I wrote her back, just like you used to ask me to do so long ago when we
wrote letters to each other.
Scott, I hate that you had to go so soon. I know how much you loved your job and your
family, especially your nieces and nephews.
I know because you told me. And that
day I saw you in the hospital telling the respiratory therapist what he needed
to do for you I knew that you had a good life and were well respected by the people
you worked with for so many years. You
had so much to left to give, but your body didn’t cooperate.
Well, I’ve got to go now, it’s getting late even though we
are setting our clocks back an hour tonight.
I get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow!
You? You get eternity with an
Almighty God. I think you get the better
end of this deal. Speaking of deal, don’t
forget ours. I hope she was waiting for
you. I went shopping today and stopped
by the Clinique counter and took a big whiff of her perfume. It made me cry to think of you and her there together,
but they were tears of happiness not sadness.
I don’t feel sadness for you, Scott, because I know you are wrapped
in glory now. I do feel sadness for your
family’s loss, and my loss of you as a friend.
It will be really hard for your family for a while now, but I know from
experience they will one day fill that loss with good memories and find joy in
the place of their sadness when they speak your name. It will get better for them in time, so don’t
let it worry you.
I’ve stayed too long, I know, so I’ll sign off now. Tell everyone up there “Hi” for me and write
back real soon. I’ll see you in heaven.
Love, Your Friend,
Elizabeth
