Journal of a Living Lady #92

 

Nancy White Kelly

 

My memory is slipping. No doubt about it. While it is true I get a lot of email and snail mail, I generally remember the sender. Not this time.

 

Yesterday I got this interesting email. I’ll change the sender’s name in case his true identify comes to me soon and I am totally embarrassed. I will call him Marcus. This was the message almost verbatim.

 

Dear Nancy,

 

This is Marcus again. I just had to write you. I found my grand daughter that I haven't been in touch with for over 8 years. I did a search and got her e-mail address. I'm walking on clouds.

 

But she told me that she was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney disease and had to undergo  radiation therapy for a time. She has been in remission for 2 years now. 

 

Her fiancée  left her because the "strain" was too much for him. You can be so thankful for Barney.

 

 Thanks for being you,

 

Marcus

 

Actually I glad he is him and I am me. And I am very happy that he found his long-lost granddaughter. Have no clue what the separation was caused by or even how old his granddaughter is. From the rest of the message I conclude she is of marrying age. My personal opinion is she is better off that her fiancée left her before the marriage if the strain was already too much for him. So much for love and commitment.

 

Now, as for being thankful for Barney, I really am struggling with that one. I can think of only two Barneys I know on a first name basis. One is the popular kiddy TV figure. I have met Oprah, but not Barney.

 

The other Barney is a deacon in our church. I am thankful for him. When I was told I had the recurrence of cancer, Barney, along with several other close friends, gathered around me one night in an otherwise empty church sanctuary and prayed for my healing. It was a special, ethereal, unspeakable time that mere words could never adequately describe. I felt the presence of God.

 

Quite possibly Marcus confused Barney with my husband, Buddy. We’ve been married thirty-five years. Buddy could have left me lots of times when the going got rough, but he is as faithful and stubborn as an ole mule. Thick or thin. For better or worse, we are in this marriage for the long haul till death do us part.

 

If you read this, Marcus, I apologize for my absent-mindedness. Even if I can’t recall who you are,  I appreciate your writing. It made my day.

 

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