Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

I just finished talking for an hour with my childhood friend who lives on the east coast.  She's about to garden around her house, and I'm going to put a second coat of paint on a little bridge and oil down the picnic table, chairs and a bench.  But for an hour, we talked about our hopes and dreams and how our kids and grandkids are doing.  These little breaks in the predictable sameness of our days and our isolation are so valuable.  I used to call this person my sister, as we both had only one brother, hers much older and mine three years younger.  She's a strong person, with passionate opinions, and I am as well.  For a while our politics were opposed, and we just didn't discuss it.  Now we are aligned, and feel free to grumble to our hearts' content.  She reminds me of who I am and was and hope to be.  She grounds me.