celebration and loss, relishing the good while tolerating the bad

**I meant to post this back in July, but things were raw and i wasn't quite ready.

i was able to visit my parents in alabama at the beginning of june, which was wonderful because they celebrated their 50th anniversary! This is such a milestone these days when everything is so disposable. i have the utmost respect and gratitude for their example of what a Godly marriage can look like! thank you!

i'm going to bypass all the crap going on in the US for a minute, because if i start talking about anything related to COVID19, or the protests, i'm sure i will spark intense debate, and that is not my purpose. i don't believe that social media is the place for this, these conversations should be happening in person with people that actually know my heart-that is the only way we can have true communication void of superficial judgement. too many people don't know me well enough to hear what i have to say.

anyhoo. that said, i recently had a classmate who passed away due to complications from COVID19 back home. our class was so small (i counted 54 in our yearbook- but there are a couple extra that are still considered classmates even though they may have not graduated at the same time from eis, that said, small class), and everyone knows everyone and is in everyone's business. more-so back in the day than now, since we have dispersed to different countries and spread out a bit. we all remain connected through internet and heart! 

this loss was a huge loss within the class because he really had a uniting personality. when i had the opportunity to visit home a few years back, he had reached out to try to get together, but our schedules didn't match up, and we missed that window of opportunity. we followed each other on insta and fb, and kept up via whatsapp. i LOVED watching interactions of fito and our classmates at the beach, out in utila.. he would post about guns, pets and atv's and i started to really look forward to catching up in person at our next class reunion because we have SO much in common and i think we would have had rich conversation and so much to talk about! i just want that opportunity back, and it will never happen now. i hate that. now is the time to reconnect- don't put it off!!

**9-26-2020 update

even at this point, it seems surreal, almost as if he'll be with us in our next get-together. today i heard the sad news that his father passed away just this morning. it is tragic, and a very sad chapter of the story. my heart is heavy for his mom, and for his sister, who was one of my basketball teamates, and someone i remember with great fondness (side note, she married one of my former classmates from academia los pinares, in tegucigalpa!); as one of my classmates had mentioned, it's sad to think that her son will have to grow up without having gotten to know his uncle and grandfather. 

i can't imagine removing his contacts from FB, Insta, or Whatsapp... messages...the last one i had, i go back to read because it keeps the memory alive. it was merely weeks before he passed, making the loss even more shocking.

i look forward to keeping a place at the table for fito when we do finally have the chance to all get together again. we will destapar una cerveza and leave an empty chair for him at the table! RIP don rodolfo y fito.

don't save your words. you never know which ones you will hold onto as the last, so make them cherished memories-

julie