Mary Ellen is eighty-three and still plays tennis and golf each week. Her husband passed away six years ago and….for the first few weeks, she was lost. A friend came by each morning and forced her to take a long walk on the beach near her home in Sarasota. At first, she thought Jane was just being pushy and hoped she’d back off. In time, she couldn’t wait to hear the knock on the door and off they’d go. The sadness never disappeared completely but the smell of the water and the sight of the seagulls flying above put her in a peaceful place. Mary Ellen looks forward to her flight to Oregon in April. There she’ll share time with her daughter and three grandkids who make her smile non stop. Oh, the flight will be a lonely one as she and George used to make the trip together each spring. She’ll read a book and look out the window as they get above the clouds. Mary Ellen can accept the sadness as she says a prayer of thanks for how loved she was in her sixty-one years of marriage.
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