friendship

Is it macabre that I happened to have posted a string of death-bed quotes here mere weeks before my own father passed away? How could I have known that it wouldn't be so bemusing once death actually touched my life in this way? Is it inappropriate to be blogging so soon after such a horrible event? I think I can do what I like, and I think Dad would approve.

This evening I was looking up quotes about friendship. So many wonderful people have been showering me and Amy with love and support -- close friends, casual friends, old friends, new friends, family members, and even somewhat random people who remember some small, pleasant encounter they had with my Dad at some point in the distant past. It's really a beautiful thing. I know I have good friends, but it's certainly times like these that you understand what that can really mean, and how important it can be. And I dare say that Winnie the Pooh & Christopher Robin had some terrific insights and reflections on both friendship and life in general, and I know Dad would appreciate that.

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you."

"You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."

"I used to believe in forever, but forever is too good to be true."

"I wonder what Piglet is doing. I wish I were there to be doing it too."

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."

"Promise me you'll never forget me, because if I thought you would I'd never leave."