Sheila

My old friend Sheila came for lunch today.  With her she brought sandwiches, cookies, and chips.  And it was a wonderful visit.  We haven't seen each other for almost two years.  Far too long.

Sheila and I go way back, you know, one of those friends you had when you were student poor and hardly had two nickels to rub together.

First met Sheila when I was working for a small up and coming computer company in Raleigh.  At that time, processing anything on a computer was a really big deal.  The computer room that housed the main frame was huge.  My iPhone now does way more than that old machine could ever think of doing.

One day a new girl came in.  It was Sheila.  She had been hired for a temp job and we hit it off right from the start.  I was talking with her that day and realized she didn't have transportation, and, no place to live.  Well, that would never do, so I put her in the car with me and home we went.  All of Sheila's belongings were in one bag so she was pretty easy to move around.  I already had three other roommates, never thought that it might impose on anyone and don't remember anyone ever complaining.  That could have been because Sheila was so endearing to anyone that met her.  And I think to this day, I have never heard her say an unkind word about anyone.

Sheila stayed with us till she got back on her feet and then moved into her own apartment.  But timing is everything.  While sleeping in our crib, she met Pete.  Pete was a geology major at NC State and a good friend.  On occasion, (insert big smile here) I would either have a party or attend one,  so Sheila went with me and met Pete. They hit it off right away too.  Pete and Sheila have been married over 35 years.  As I said, timing is everything.

During our visit, we reminisced old times, shared pictures and stories of family and friends and just generally had a wonderful visit brushing away all the time we have missed.

Her children are grown now, and like mine, live too far away.  She has one granddaughter and another on the way.

Here's a photo of Sheila with her prayer book.  She has a list of everyone she is praying for and their needs.  She decided to write them down in her book because she woke up one morning and realized she had forgotten someone.  That's my Sheila.

Wish I had time to tell all of my Sheila stories.  Maybe later.  They are way too good not to share.  Sheila was always a good one to play tricks on because she was so trusting, not just of me but everyone.  Sheila always sees the best in people.  Once, when she and her family lived in Utah, her children took a photo of her standing in front of a road sign.  Sheila never thought to look at what it said.  They told her to stand in front of the sign so they could take her picture and she did.  When it came back, there's Sheila in front of a big sign that says, "Dense Fog".  And she laughed along with them.  That's my Sheila.

A few summers ago, Sheila and Pete invited us to spend the weekend at the lake house to celebrate her birthday.  My "party in a box" friend Kay and husband Bill went too.  We had a wonderful time and when we were leaving, Kay and I decided as a trick, to put one of the extra jumbo cucumbers, with a little face carved in it, in their bed so they would find it that night when they went to bed.

Several months went by.  Kay called and told me we were going to have to replace the mattress at Sheila's.  They had left the lake house that night and never found the big "baby" cucumber in their bed until later and the mattress was ruined.  We were horrified, especially since Sheila didn't find it....her mother-in-law did.  After several phone calls of apology, Sheila finally said, "Gotcha!"  She had been playing a trick on us for a change.

Touche Sheila....guess we taught you well.

PCQ