A new friend
And a gentle reminder
Hi there, thanks for being here! I’ve been away, putting both the shop and my Substack on pause. I’ll be back regularly in time for Spring. Thank you for sticking around, I never take it lightly.
Last week I took the little one to visit family. We flew over oceans. I’m writing to you from the future! We’re now thirteen hours ahead. But before the trip I was nervous. Not about flying, but about family. They want to love you, but not in the ways that you want to be loved. That’s another story.
This one’s about friendship and a gentle reminder from before I left.
See you soon.
-Sarah
When she reminded me to bring my son’s medication, I was caught off guard and drew a blank. I didn’t remember mentioning his sickness to her, but I was more taken aback that she remembered, and had relevant advice for me.
She went on to tell me a story about her parents and how the airline had lost their luggage along with their medication. And how she thought of me.
It was true. We’ve forgotten his medication before. My husband and I, we’ve familiarized ourselves with the pharmacies nearby, which ones open til 10pm, midnight, and which ones open all night. We’ve made late night dashes to all of them more than once. But she didn’t know any of this.
It also wasn’t the kind of advice I’d normally receive with an open heart. If it had come from someone close, a family member, or my mom, it would’ve sounded more like a rebuke rather than a kind reminder. And I would not have reacted kindly, either.
She looked at me with a bright smile and dishevelled hair. Last week she told me about a new habit of going to the gym before coming here to volunteer with me. She invited me to go with her, for bone density, she said, because you know, we’re not that young anymore. But I said no. I hate working out, I told her. I used the H word because it was genuine. I had a lot of H in me. And it’s metastasized ever since my little guy, his sickness, and my helplessness.
Looking at her now, I regret using the H word. Although it was how I’d felt about working out when she asked, it seems vile now, to float that wretched word among a gentle soul.