Friendly Visit

I posted here and here that summer 2008 would be my healing summer-- physically, spiritually, relationally (is that a word?). I made some minor headway physically by procuring a prescription for the antibiotic protocol (AP) and purchasing the supplements my AP doctor recommended. However, neither the supplements nor the antibiotics prove efficacious unless I actually ingest them. So, I give myself a C-minus in Physical Health Improvement class.

In those same posts I stated that I wanted to heal lost relationships with one person in mind: Bob. My grade in that class? A+. Bob visited Monday through Thursday this past week for the first time in several years and I was sad to see him go. You would never have known that we had lost touch prior to this summer.

While he visited we enjoyed the freshly ground coffee and a pan of the most decadent, chocolate brownies imaginable, both brought by Bob. Knock that Physical Health Improvement grade down to a D-plus. One afternoon we sat outside in the sunshine for an hour or two and talked about subjects as diverse as health issues, relationships, traveling and ideologies behind books like The Secret. Bob's IQ is in the 150s, so visiting with him is comfortably challenging, though not pretentious.

To the outsider ours appears an odd relationship, though less so as the years pass. Bob is in his seventies, while I have just turned forty. Whether it's a result of the arthritis or simply my nature, I find it easiest to relate to older people. Their years provide for a genuine understanding of what holds authentic value in this world and our generation gap eliminates most--if not all--competition between us. I can simply "be," especially with Bob. At the same time, Bob's friends are all under the age of fifty. We're naturally drawn to each other.

As an added bonus this week the French Door Room was officially company-ready! I spent Sunday unpacking the blue bedding I had purchased a year ago, making the bed, sweeping up spiders, moving furniture and even driving to Wal-mart for last-minute necessities. Having a guest room has been MANY years in the making as you already know. The only thing I couldn't control was the neighbor's yipping dog.

Bob arrived on a cool, sunny autumn day. A light rain fell as he drove away Thursday. I know it's cliche for a writer to make the weather imitate emotion, but in my case it actually did.