A Special Day: 2nd Nov, 2017 – Chapter 4
Dear Ann,
It was sort of an anti-climax coming home to a quiet house after such an active, interesting & happy day. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself until my favourite TV programme came on.
I thought I would fiddle around on the computer until then, but other people thought differently. The phone started to ring. I answered & it was my son, David who had been ringing all day without a response.
I must tell you at this point that a couple of months ago my telephone packed it in. I have been waiting for a new phone designed for people with a hearing problem. A lady spoke about them at Prime Timers around the time my phone went kaput. The phones are free. You must have internet connection & it prints out what the person you are talking to is saying to you, so that if you don’t hear it you can read it.
Five people from Prime Timers had it installed straight away. I was next on the list, but the lady left their employment, which meant I had to wait for someone from Sydney to install it for me. That hadn’t happened & in the interim David had lent me an old phone with no answering service, which is a necessity for me. So I finally asked David to buy a phone set for me & install it next Saturday when he came for his weekly visit.
I am telling you this because both Charley & David were trying to ring me on my birthday with no response. Finally Charley rang her Dad wondering if something had happened to me.
David had also been worried, so got in his car to drive down here to check. However, he hit a traffic jam – bumper-to-bumper – & went back home. So when the phone rang it was my son & I was able to put his mind at rest.
He wished me a Happy Birthday, asked if I would like to go out for dinner. I think was a little relieved when I said that I had so much lunch I would not be able to do dinner justice. So he said he would see me on Saturday.
This was Thursday, the actual day of my birthday. So as it turned out I didn’t see any of my immediate family on my birthday.
However, no time to dwell on that as the phone kept ringing non stop until late into the night. I was sitting at my computer & felt like a telephonist answering calls every few minutes from friends & family. It was great.
Firstly, from Philip in LA. Then from friend, Jill in Adelaide, to Kay & Roger in Canberra advising me they had organised for a carton of my favourite wine to be collected at the local liquor store.
Then my niece, Michelle; my sister Joice; nephew, Dean; my sister Jill; local friends who hadn’t been in touch for a while. In between calls I read birthday messages from friends in Denmark, Germany & LA on my computer.
My last phone call came from my brother, Peter & wife, Beth in Brisbane, which lasted for a wonderful hour chatting (not unusual), when I had to call it to a halt as I was starting to feel tired after my great day. I was also feeling elated. However I slept well!
Friday morning I was well refreshed, which was just as well as I received a call from Narelle, David’s very first true love & a deeply caring loving friend of mine since she was fifteen years old, which makes this friendship 45 years old.
Do you remember me telling you about the time, a few years ago, when I arrived home from LA how she, her partner Geoff & David had revamped my whole back yard so that it was self sufficient from then on.
That was a true act of love & David has told me how they enjoyed emailing each other in planning it all. It was to be a ‘never forgotten’ wonderful surprise. It explains a little the true depth of the love we all share.
So she rang me because we hadn’t been able to get together for our birthdays so she was intending to leave work on Friday night, to drive for two & half hours from Sydney to my place to come & stay the night. What joy & what love. I was elated.
It was arranged that I would have a simple dinner of chicken & mango salad & she would bring the wine & dessert. I set the table, had everything ready via the local supermarket & could hardly wait for her to arrive.
However, I had one small problem, which was 200 x 1 KG puddings sitting on the spare bed! I know I could have used the sofa bed in the lounge, but decided that was not what I wanted, so I got very busy. Luckily had enough cartons courtesy of Rachelle at Micheles Patisserie that I could store them in. Better to have 25 cartons of Christmas puddings stacked in the lounge & dining rooms & have a nice cosy bedroom for my important visitor!
What elation when she arrived at the front door which was wide open & Dawn standing there. As she walked towards me there were huge smiles, then more than great hugs before we walked in with Dawn accepting the flowers, the chocolates, the wine AND the dessert! AND the LOVE.
We sat down at the table at almost 8 p.m. where we ate, drank & talked. And we talked & we talked & we talked. We hadn’t been alone together like this in years.
We covered ground over many many years. We had shared many ups & downs throughout our years of friendship. I guess she looks on me as another Mum & I probably look on her as the daughter I never had.
I surprised her by saying that I believe she has been allocated the job of sending me off when I leave this planet by doing my eulogy. David had told me this once. So we kept on talking so that she was well prepared for her send off speech whilst we shared the wine!
We had lots of laughs along as the night wore on. And we very much enjoyed the berry cheese cake that she had brought along.
However, in true Narelle style, I had yet another beautiful & sentimental card to read from this lovely young lady, now 60 years old, but looking like a 40 year old. Her card meant so much to me as many of them had over the years. I read:
Happy Birthday to an Amazing Friend.
We’re so young to be such old friends.
We’ve known each other for so long & shared so many of life’s milestones through our friendship I feel so lucky to have a friend like you.
Love Always, Narelle & Geoff”.
However, she went on to say in her own personal words:
What a wonderful friendship we have shared over the many many years. I treasure our times together through our ups & downs. Here’s to many more years enjoying & valuing our truly wonderful friendship.
Lots of love always, Narelle’.
Narelle & I had the most wonderful evening together deciding to call it a day at 1 a.m. I think she had gleaned enough for the eulogy!
I had a fantastic sleep, no doubt due to the utter contentment I was feeling, not to mention three quarters of a bottle of crisp white!
In the morning it was time for Narelle to head back to Sydney & believe it or not the birthday had far from ended. More to come.
Love you my dear friend & I treasure the memories. Dawn X O X O