There are things you want to pass along to your children, and things you do not. My list of things I wish to pass on: my love of reading, my high energy, my cooking skills. That’s about it. The list of traits I really hope I have not passed along takes off from there and is very long. Yesterday, I discovered a trait I passed on to Abby that I regret.
We went to Charlotte yesterday for the funeral of a dear friend. Sally McMillan was a neighbor of ours in Dilworth, and her daughters have been friends of Abby’s since they were young. Sally and Ralph lived across the street and we enjoyed a long friendship with them. Sally was a literary agent and she gave me so much encouragement towards my writing. When I learned that she was dying of Cancer, I wrote an email telling her how much she meant to me, never expecting to hear back. But write she did and continued to praise and encourage my writing. I was so touched. So both Abby and I drove to Charlotte yesterday for her funeral.
First we visited another dear friend whose mother died recently. Gina Stewart and her wife Brenda own a very cool restaurant/coffee shop in East Charlotte. I had never been there and was delighted to see the place and to eat an amazing vegan lunch. Gina and Brenda both made time to sit with us for a few minutes between orders, and we made plans to return for Gina’s mother’s funeral soon.
We hurried over to the church in Sedgefield for Sally’s funeral, and were worried we would be so late that we couldn’t find a seat. We pulled into the parking lot of the Methodist Church, and were stunned to find the parking lot empty. What the…? Abby pulled out her phone and checked to see if we were at the wrong church, but we were in the right place. At the wrong time.
The funeral is, in fact, at that church on a Thursday, but the Thursday in question is two weeks from now.
The trait I passed on to Abby appears to be moving too fast and skipping the details. I do this sort of thing all the time. For example, I just ordered a sweater on line and hit the Buy Now button, not noticing that the sweater had short sleeves! I never wear short sleeves, even in summer. Too busy to pay attention to the small print. But Abby?? I thought she was better than that!
Nonetheless, we had a great day at South Park Mall, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. We will make a return trip in two weeks.
