HONORING A FRIENDSHIP

We lived in Michigan for four years and were many miles from my family.  It was hubby, a four year old boy, a three month old girl, a mother-in-law suffering from dementia and me.  It was a learning experience!  Suddenly, in the middle of the night, I quickly learned how to call a doctor I had never met.  A little boy, burning up with a fever, and a very scared mommy was assured it would be fine.  Bill and I learned to rely on each other.  We learned how to deal with small children and a very special lady who lived in her own world.

Those four years were full of very little money, laughter and hard work.  When we left, there was one extremely valuable thing we took with us and cherish to this day:  a friendship.

And Sunday we traveled back to honor that friendship as we attended the visitation for Wayne.  We did the same for Mary a few years back.

Wayne and Mary – I could fill a book of how they encouraged, accepted, helped and welcomed us into their lives.  I do not remember how we met.  I am sure Bill met Wayne when he needed a part fixed.

Wayne, like many men his age, only finished the eighth grade.  The thing is Wayne had a gift.  He could see a problem and build something to take care of it.  A broken part – he could make it.  A machine to make parts – he would build it.  It amazed us when this humble man would tell about working for GM and traveling the world.  He told about $800 – 1,000 meals in Brussels.  (That would be around $8,000 today.)  When he was in New York, he would hire a taxi for the day.  When in Los Angeles, he would use a helicopter.  His wife would meet him at the airport and they would exchange suitcases.  Mary would go back home and Wayne would fly away. 

Mary was … Well, she was Mary.  You had to know her.  She raised the girls, took care of the home and supported Wayne.  She had a smile that lit up her face and she was part monkey.  One time, I was trying to figure out how I was going to paint a stairway that led to the basement.  No problem for her.  She brought over a couple of boards and, I swear, hung from the ceiling as she painted away.  Mary filled a spot in my life that needed filled and she did it with quiet dignity.

They had two daughters, Judy and Susie.  Wonderful girls and Susie was the right age to babysit.  Plus, our daughter thought Susie was her best friend ever, although they did ask if Terri could not eat onions before coming over. 

If you drove into their yard, you would not believe your eyes.  They lived simply.  BUT, there was the area Wayne called his.  The Shop!  Machines of every description.  Our son swore Wayne had every tool ever invented.  Plus hit and miss engines, one of which ran on lard.  Plus old tractors.  Plus a car he bought at an auction.  He carried it home in a bushel basket and, way before google, Wayne researched what parts were missing.  Eventually, a car called Orient sat in their garage.

They helped us move.  They visited and spent many New Year’s Day enjoying a meal with our family and friends.  They even took one of our cats on vacation.  It was not intentional.  The small kitten crawled into the wheel well.  They discovered the stowaway when they heard a funny sound.  Each time they had coffee; they would keep the creamer and give it to the kitten.  On their way home, they stopped, knocked on the door and asked, “Did you miss this little guy?”

The memories are there:  A 25^th Anniversary.  A 50^th Anniversary.  A dog named Gretchen.  A mountain of shopping carts.  (A whole story by itself.)  Two children who fell asleep on their floor as easily as they fell asleep at home.  Wayne and Bill standing under a tree talking.  Mary and I being friends. 

Today I honor a friendship.  A friendship that lasted over years and miles.  A friendship that blessed our lives from the time we heard, “Hi my name is Wayne and this is my wife, Mary.”