Happy Anniversary C!

Dateline: Colona, Illinois, July 4th Weekend, 1972. Opening weekend for Melodie Meadows Campground, owned by Ron & Charlene Heeren. My mom gets nosy when she hears what she thinks is a sewing machine humming in the trailer near ours. We think she's nuts. When the neighbors leave, Mom peeps in the window and, sure enough, it's a sewing machine!

And thus began friendships that continue to this day.....

We wound up spending many Thanksgivings, Christmas's and Easters together. We camped together, square danced together, hung out together. My parents remain friends of T (the dad) to this day. And we were all there when his wife, J, died a couple of years ago.

Us kids were not quite so close. The younger son married his college sweetheart and moved away from the hometown. The older sister (my age), C, married, had a daughter, got divorced, got on with life, and stayed close to home. My sister also settled close to home and saw C a whole lot more than I did. I went out to conquer the world.

At best, communication between C and I has been spotty over the years, but I always knew she was there. Mom actually worked for C the winter Mom and Dad didn't go south. So we have stayed in loose touch.

This last winter, C and husband and her daughter and her husband all moved to the Las Vegas area when C transferred to a new office. I haven't corresponded with her since she moved (although I have had ample opportunity), but I am assuming things had been going well.

Until last Wednesday night.

C and her husband were riding a motorcycle home from dinner when a car pulled out in front of them. He swerved to avoid the car, hit a curb instead and C went flying. THANK GOODNESS Nevada is a mandatory helmet state or C would most likely not be with us today.

But everything has changed. She is in a coma at University Medical Center. The brain injury is bad. Physically, she seems to be doing okay... cuts are healing, body chemicals are in balance. We are just waiting for her to wake up. It could be days. I could be weeks or months.

I have a zillion questions I want to ask her nurse.... what is C's ICP? What is her PCO2? What is the AC for the vent set on? What is her lactate level? And on and on and on.... Nosy questions to be sure... but things my nurse brain wants to know to get a better idea of where we are at/what to expect. Not that the answers will make C wake up faster or better. It's just the nurse thing.

Yesterday, when I was thinking of her, I realized that we had known each other for 31 years.

33 years. 78% of our lifetimes. My very first partner in crime. My canasta foe (4 decks, not 2. Two decks are for sissys). So I didn't send a get well card. I sent an anniversary card. For me, 33 years is a long time to stay in touch with someone, no matter how infrequent the conversations.

33 years. Here's to you, C! C & Chris, circa 1974? '75?