Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

This morning I went to a friend's house for coffee. I had not seen her since before the pandemic, though she lives two streets away. It felt great to catch up, and also hear again her experience when her wife (we were at their wedding) died suddenly, as she was about to come home from rehab after surgery for her knee. She was able to have a candlelight service and also a big memorial service, which I could not attend because I was helping my daughter in another state. It was painful not to attend, just as it has been painful not to have a service yet for my daughter. Happily, my friend has a new partner, who is delightful, and her large family is amazingly supportive. My friend just draws people to her with her love, compassion and generousity. She showed me her one year old dog's tricks, which include everything from playing dead and rolling over to jumping through a hula hoop. Though she is a retired pediatrician, she is a skilled dog trainer as well. We talked about the covid year, and it felt great to see each other, maskless, and in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.