Friday night homework blues

TONIGHT I ESCAPED from the tether of my study room. I left a paper 3/4 finished on the screen, grabbed my bag, jumped in the car and drove off. I felt lonely and alone (my husband is involved in a city-wide festival all week-end). I needed some face time with strangers and friends alike.

After an Al Anon meeting (I attend those every now and then; they help), I headed over to a fund-raiser that was being held in honor of a friend of mine who died about a year ago. I knew his wife would be there and I have been waiting for the perfect time to hand-deliver the CaringBridge book I created for her almost a year ago. CaringBridge is a way to stay connected via the Internet when a loved one is sick.

It was the perfect time.

I think it might have been overwhelming just after her husband's death. But tonight, she has a year of grieving behind her and, while it still is hard for her to get "vertical" some days, she keeps putting one foot in front of the other. Her work to raise money for brain cancer research (her late husband died from the same cancer that recently claimed Ted Kennedy's life) is also giving her another reason to get out of bed each morning.

I hugged my friend and left the folk music venue where hundreds of people had put a couple bucks in a jar to raise funds. As I drove toward home, I felt a little less lonely and a lot more connected. I finished my paper in record time.

~Ms. T. J.