The Woman Whose Glass is Half Full

Today I had the privilege to meet an old friend of mine from my Dallas days for lunch.  She's who I call "The Woman whose Glass is Half Full".  I've never met anyone quite like her.  Susan was the sales manager at a venue I would hold events at in Dallas and I always enjoyed working with her and over time developed a friendship with her.  She has a zest for life and loves to not only tell stories but to listen to them as well.  In a time in my life when being single was somewhat of a shame, she made me laugh out loud at stories that wouldn't otherwise be funny.  Getting dumped over the phone, getting stood-up, spending night after night at home alone...she helped me laugh at life instead of cry over it.

Anyway, after knowing my friend for a while and hearing stories about her dreamy french husband who pursued her over a few years and won her over and they had a wonderful life together, was actually now in a hospice with a neurological disorder that made him not able to fully communicate and no longer was mobile.  I asked her when she told me this story over lunch one day "wow, how do you do it? how are you okay? how are you working? how did I have no idea you are going through this right now?  Your attitude is always on top of the world." Her response was "How can I be upset? I am sorry for him, that he can no longer do all that he loves to do, but I was lucky enough to have 9 amazing years with the love of my life, I'm thankful for that." Then she became, The Woman Whose Glass is Half Full.  Over the next year in Dallas, she told me tales of her life about trials and tribulations that I would think would cripple someone, well it would cripple me, but she continued to show me there is a life out there to be lived, you should honor your life, be thankful of what you have and be ready for new beginnings.  This is how she lives her life, this is how I try to live mine.

Today when I got lost trying to get to where she was for lunch, I was driving to what should be 30 minutes away and was in the car for an hour and forty five minutes.  I kept calling her apologizing and getting so frustrated and she just kept saying "Don't worry about it, just relax, I'm surrounded by good company".  I was two minutes from giving up when I finally stumbled upon this restaurant.  She was surrounded with what were mere strangers when she arrived and who were already new friends and perhaps a potential new love interest.  We sat together for nearly two hours and talked about our lives now, laughed about the dating world, which nearly 4 years after her husband passed, she had started to get out there again and finding the same speed bumps that I have.  It's good to learn that at 30 and at 60, the single life still has its complications, and the stories are just as funny no matter the age.

Today I got to retell some funny stories, I got to listen to some amazing ones and I had two hours with an inspiration.  I drove home still not sure if my GPS would steer me in the right direction, but realizing that my cup isn't just half full, my cup runneth over.  I may be single, but like my friend, I've been blessed for 30 years with the most amazing people who have come into my life, a few who have left, but all who have inspired me to be more.  I realize this isn't one of the funnier entries, but I can't let anyone go without knowing there is someone like that in this world, who can inspire anyone to get up and get going, complain less and laugh more, cry as much as you want but make sure you aren't alone and someone is handing you a tissue.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and that your cup too, runneth over.