Handsome

"I just wanted you to know,"  she said gently and quietly as she pulled me aside, "your dad was so handsome!"

My "new" friend of the last several years has never met Dad, she only knows of the path we walk today.  She has heard me speak of him, seen my tears when obstacles prevented me from getting to visit, tried to understand with me about this monster disease, listened as I've grieved the pain of losing him.

Someone else had shown her a photo of our family from the early 90s.  Dad was healthy, full-faced and smiling.

....

Thank you, my friend, for honoring my father by that simple comment.  My sudden tearfulness may have been misinterpreted for something else, but it brought such joy to hear someone else speak of him.  You blessed me more than you could know.