Warm Memories

We’re all familiar with the phrase “my life flashed before my eyes” when someone is faced with a life or death situation. We’ve seen it played out in movie scenes or perhaps have even experienced it in real life.

Two days ago, I had a similar epiphany when I received the sad news that a dear friend was not expected to live. It wasn’t my life that flashed before my eyes, but memories. Memories of time spent with this friend throughout our 40+ year history…recollections of so many memorable moments.

When you move to Alaska, everyone talks about coming to visit you. Who doesn’t want to take a vacation to Alaska? People mean well, but alas, when they check the airline ticket prices, they realize that it might not be in the budget.

We moved to Kodiak, Alaska in June of 2007. I heard from Susan a few months after we arrived and she said that she wanted to come and visit me in the wintertime. I argued that she should come in the summertime, when flowers are blooming, the wildlife is active, and the hiking superb. And of course there’s the obvious fact that it’s much warmer! (Warm is a relative term.)

Her response almost made me cry. She told me that she wanted to come when it was the darkest and the coldest because that was when I would be the loneliest. Even now, I can’t think of it without tearing up. She thought of my plight before I even anticipated it. What an amazingly unselfish act of love that truly exemplified empathy for a friend.

And so she came. In the dead of winter. Mid-February in Alaska, when most residents are clamoring to find a way to travel to a warmer climate. And in spite of the cold, we had a wonderful time…driving to all of my favorite spots on snow-covered roads and even hiking on icy trails. It is my fondest memory from our first winter here. I don’t really remember the darkness or freezing temperatures, but I will always cherish the brilliance and warmth of a visit from a true friend.

And so, knowing that the dreaded phone call informing me that my friend has passed is eminent, I choose to keep the many fond memories of our times together at the forefront of my thoughts. It’s comforting to know that we will spend eternity with each other. I see us exploring the wonders of heaven together and it’s difficult to fathom that Alaska is but a sliver of the majestic beauty we will experience there.