laughin' thru the mix....

she's one of my favorite neighbor's.
she makes me laugh and laugh.
i bumped into her when i went to get the mail.

there was much life to catch up on,
it had been awhile.
and being busy women, we do it fairly quickly.
but still, it takes a little time to cover that much ground.

but in a short time we ran thru enough topics to make your head spin.

as i walked back into the house smiling,
i realized what captured my heart about those conversations -
it's the understanding between us.
it seems to have grown over the years.
i guess it's grown as we have grown.
we know of the sad stuff.
and we know that we gotta hold it.
and yet, at the same time, if it's at all possible -
we're gonna laugh.
and we're gonna throw in a good heapin' hunk of gratitude wherever we can.
then we're gonna throw in a big ol' grumble, a sigh, and then another laugh.

i found myself literally stomping my foot and bending over with laughter.
i found my heart sincerely hurting for some of her sadness,
and i found myself nodding emphatically in gratitude with her.

yes, there have been conversations without the laughter.
yes, there have been times there's been only tears.
sometimes hers.
sometimes mine.
because that's the way life is sometimes.

it's the 'if it's at all possible, we're gonna laugh' thing that runs thru it all tho,
that makes me love her so much. i think somehow that brings the fullness
of life into it all.

it reminds me that life is filled with so many different emotions, so many
different depths. and that's okay.
there's pain smeared thru the good, joy splashed thru the sorrow,
it's all there....and i'm reminded of what a gift that incredible mix is once more.
and what a gift it is when you talk with someone who understands that.