SISTERHOOD & BROTHERHOOD

Recently I was called to the friendship hitching post, and I ran not walked to the task.   That is the way it is with enduring friendships, you don’t question it, you just step forward.  Friendship, sometimes, is not convenient.  Especially when your plate is already full.  It requires sacrifice – that’s where the worthiness of a sacred act comes into play … you place yourself in an available position without any expectations whatsoever.

As most of you know, I had full knee replacement surgery eight weeks ago that really turned me upside down.  It was a doozy.  Without a hint of complaint, my friend, who was dealing with an infection around his eye, came every day to help the Professor and me through the trenches.  Now, eight weeks have passed, and this friend found himself on the brink of heaven’s door when his infection began to spread rampantly after becoming unresponsive to the courses of antibiotics he was administered.  Wow.  His physician took one-look and whisked him across the street to the hospital with lighting speed where he underwent a five-hour surgery by two very skilled neurosurgeons who removed his sinuses and frontal temporal plate excising all the damaged tissue and suturing his head back together with 48 staples.  To say his ordeal was life-threatening is putting it mildly.  Better to call it what it was – a miracle.

Building a tribe is about being one who shows up.  It’s going about things in a quiet and efficient way.  It is about opening your eyes to the need and supplying the calming response so as not to add any more angst to the ordeal.  I know when my friend administered to me in my time of need, my laundry got done and folded and put away.  My kitchen counters were wiped clean and the floor swept, just the way I like it.  These tasks freed the Professor to tend to my med schedule and meals, keep my business running, and take care of feeding the hounds on time.  It was a tribal effort. 

Now hearing the call, it was our turn to show up.  I get tears in my eyes when I think about it.  I am so happy to be called to deliver care and concern, it is my turn.  So, I will show up every day at his hospital room delivering smiles and concern.  The Professor will call and text to catch him up on every homerun he’s missed from not being able to watch their beloved Washington Nationals.  I will show up at his little cottage and feed his two kitties and talk to them so they know he will return – albeit that event is still weeks away.

Being kind to everyone is essential to living and raising your humanity, and it is something I put forward every day as a general rule. But this level of friendship goes beyond just being kind, it is being called to be in service to another soul.  I will be the first to say, you cannot and should not administer this level of care to just anyone.  Unfortunately, in this life, there are too many takers and lazy persons who will want to steal you for their own.  This level of sisterhood/brotherhood should be reserved for the comrades who are of like mind.

I am glad I was presented with the opportunity to show up.  It feels good.  It feels right.  My humanity is being made better by it every day.