GUEST POST
By Renata de Dios
Thirteen months ago my friend isolated himself from the world after the love of his life died. It was right before Christmas 2018. Nothing could get him out of his depression. Nothing could lure him out of that bungalow on County Road 9 that held him hostage to the memories of his wife’s three-year illness. Toward the end of the three years, she started to turn the corner to good health, but only to be struck down again. This time there was no return. She died in a hospital with my friend by her side.
Just a few weeks ago, we turned our clocks ahead in anticipation of Spring. It was then that my friend miraculously sprung out of his depression and started to make plans to move out of that bungalow on County Road 9 into a small cottage near his long-time friend. It all happened so fast. One day a junk man was picking up his old stuff. And the next day he was making arrangements for his belongings to be moved to his new home so he could start his new life. All was good.
Then, without warning, the coronavirus hit the U.S. like an atomic bomb, killing my friend’s dreams for the time being. Who would believe it? A couple of special news reports and my friend’s life had to be put on hold. Not just my friend’s life — everyone’s life. Not just in the U.S., but around the world.
This week my friend would have been traveling with his faithful cat to his new home to start his new life, just in time for Spring. It would have been a time for him to be reborn and renewed. It would have been a time for hope. Now that will all have to wait. But to every season, there is a purpose… and summer will be here before we know it.
Billy, you might still have some distance away from where Renata stays, but she certainly has picked up your cue and become much more attuned to your brilliant style. I could never get enough of well-written posts like this, which basically has everything I need – a tender sense of sadness and the bittersweet of wit, an acceptance of the presence and hope for the future … It’s amazing how friends can be beneficial to each other in the most imperceptive yet unmissable ways, Renata is fortunate to have you as a great influence. Billy, you are a master of the Art of Living 🍑
Thank you, Dot — yes, bittersweet is the key word. If, as you say, I am a master of the Art of Living, it’s probably because I have done a lot of it — which brings me to you — please look after yourself Dot at this perilous time, you are a wonderful writer with an astonishing mind.
I will do the best I can, Billy, thanks for being so kind to me. Please remember to do the squats (not pushup), eat the proteins, and get as much sunlight as you can 🌻
I will — it’s sunny today and I’m going out in it.
Hope you summer comes for us all for the best, and most of all for you to start your new life. I’m so glad there’s this new road ahead for you to walk. Just needs a not so long span of time (for what you’ve already suffered) to wait until then. Surely you deserve the best. We’re all in this now and we’ll all beat it. Meanwhile I’ll be reading you from here across the immense ocean. Best wishes.
Dear Olga, and I wish the same for you. Yes, we are all in this together and we will prevail. Thank you for reading my posts. Mantenerte fuerte.