Walls and Fortresses

Fear and shame are crippling childhood emotions that often keep us trapped long into adulthood. It can take a lifetime to lay them aside and find healing...

I tried to write about it, but the words are still locked inside. I don't know exactly where the fear and shame came from, but suspect there were multiple cooperating forces, along with a predisposition to being timid... But I do know that the last ten years have stripped away many of the walls I'd built throughout my first 50 years. I'm still the same person I was before, except there are far fewer walls and I can breathe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past Friday my sweet, forever friend Cindy passed into the world beyond. One of those rare and extremely special friends who I didn't have to see often yet was a part of my heart and soul. One day in 2007 we met up for lunch at Panera Bread and sat for four hours! We ate a lunch, talked and laughed, nibbled some cookies, and then some more cookies (her idea), and caught up on so many lost years... It was like we'd never been apart... and now she's gone. Brave, beautiful Cindy... Cancer takes the best of us. I'll find you on the other side and we can sit for hours and hours again...