This past Tuesday, I was feeling a little down in the dumps, so I went shopping. Surprisingly, the shopping did very little to improve my mood. On my way home, I stopped in to visit with my neighbor, Opal. Opal, like my mom, would probably not want me to share her age publicly, but, also like my mom, Opal is very, very young for her age! She's a teeny-tiny, beautiful little lady who can be described as no less than a spitfire!! I think she would appreciate that description. Opal and her husband Gene moved next door about 17 years ago. Annie-Laurie and Chad quickly adopted Opal and Gene as their third set of grandparents. Chad, particularly, spent lots of time visiting at their house.
As life sometimes does, it got in the way and the kids and I spent less time visiting at Opal and Gene's, and, sadly, I didn't realize how quickly Gene's health was failing. Just a couple months after I returned home from my stay in Arizona in 2011, we lost Gene. Since then, Opal and I have begun to spend more time together. Right after Mr. Gene died, Opal and I talked lots about learning to live alone, with me becoming an 'empty nester' a little sooner than I expected, and her becoming a widow sooner than she expected. Sounds like a sad story? Nope! Not a sad story at all!! While we do share some tears, we share far more laughter, and I only wish that I could make Opal laugh as much as SHE makes ME laugh! She always has a Twix bar, and she always has beer, and she never fails to cheer me up. So when I stopped at her house last Tuesday, I knew that I was in the right place!
That day, Opal and I made plans to have dinner tonight. Today was another one of 'those days', and by the time I got home from work, I was A LOT down in the dumps. I was tempted to call Opal and cancel on dinner, get into my jammies, and spend the evening in bed watching Monday night TV. But I didn't. And I'm SO glad I didn't!! Once again, it was Opal to the rescue! We went to the Casino, and I'm pretty sure I laughed at least 1000 times!
I love spending time with Opal, hearing stories of her sons and their families, of her life with Gene. But the thing that I love most is her spirit, her flair, and her zest for living......AND the fact that she makes me laugh so easily. My mom has a friend who's my age. I'm pretty sure that their relationship is much the same as the relationship that Opal and I have. What wonderful gifts are these two women who refuse to be 'old', who can 'hang out' with us 'youngsters'.....and who teach us so much about living! I hope that when I'm 'that age that shall remain nameless' I, too, will have a 'younger generation friend' who will come to see me when she wants to laugh!!
