Renee...........

I have arrived in Michigan to see Renee! I have known Renee for over 30 years......a treasured part of my story and journey.....a gift! She is 30 years older than me.....yet she just gets me.....in a way that not many folks do......and in a way that makes me always feel heard and seen.....she is well worth the 12 hour adventure the kids and I took to come see her and I am so excited to be spending the next couple of days with her......I have remained in her life for different reasons and because of different connections all these years and I would say the last 15 years our relationship has been even stronger than it has ever been......she was one of my lifeline people after he left......we spoke for hours often and she was there to listen to the same stuff over and over, allowing me to marvel at the shock and awe over and over......listen to the same stuff over and over and she just listened.......knowing what to say and when to say each and every time.....and sometimes that is what a person needs.....to just be heard and understood.....and empathized with, in their own experience, as that experience unfolds...... and she has a keen way of doing that.......never judging just supporting......getting the things about me that I want to be gotten.....loving me in all my forms.....just being there.....I would say outside of my family, and my children, she is one of the most significant relationships I have had along the way.....one that will stay with me all of my days......there was so much pain and suffering that I endured that I did not want to pour out onto my parents, and having her to help me sort it out and move through it was more helpful and profound than anybody will ever know.......I thought about that the other day.....those lifeline people......the people you can turn to in your mess and struggle and they don't see that mess and struggle, they only see you......I have been blessed to have quite a few people like that along the way......and I am so grateful for each of them.....sometimes souls just connect......they just get it and each other, and the relationship between them is just meant to be.......she has watched me grow from a teen girl to the woman I am now, always treating me with the same respect and regard at each phase, and as if I had something to say or share......something she was wanting to hear. I am always so grateful for her presence in my life and feel blessed our paths crossed all those years ago and she is always a phone call away.....a gift I never take for granted.....I will soak up the next few days......and enjoy every minute of our visit! Blessings abound:)