The things we take for granted....

Tomorrow is my 43 birthday. My birthday always reminds me of a long, lost friend. We use to go around saying "we went to each other's 2 year old birthday party!" While we have lost touch for many stretches of time, it is a rare year when I don't receive a birthday phone call. This year it was a letter. How rare and how precious to hold a piece of paper in your hand and read it over and over. How often we discard our unwritten communications and miss out on the opportunity to re-read it, ponder, and file away into that keepsake box. It is sad to think letter writing is a thing of the past, a dying art my kids will make fun of me about, but embracing change is not always entirely positive.

Part of the letter read, "Anyhow, my days of doing anything to put me in this position are over. You can call me a late bloomer of full responsibility if you'd like. Freedom is so precious...In many aspects, I regard my time here as an unwanted, unplanned, and extended vacation. They cannot keep me here forever, nor can they break my spirit... Health remains my number one concern. I will remain eternally grateful to the State of ___ for meeting these needs...Much love to you and all the pilgrims on the path."

My friend is in jail and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. Not only that, but my friend recently was diagnosed with MS. Yet, the letter is filled with optimism, gratitude and hope. I don't know anyone else in jail and when I asked my husband if he thought there were many college educated inmates, he said I'd be surprised.

We all make bad decisions, lose our way, right ourselves, lose hope, gain hope, act ungracious, show gratitude, the ever evolving human condition. Sometimes our mistakes cost us - dearly, many times we skate on through vowing to avoid pitfalls in the future. Do we ever change? Or do we get to a level of acceptance of what is?

All I know, if I was 43 and in jail, I am doubtful I would have the same inner strength, compassion and gratitude for my circumstances that my friend has. Maybe the lesson is always the same - we learn from others who are less fortunate than ourselves.

For my buddy.