love you bigger

My dear friend Reba passed away on October 4th, two days before her 86th birthday.  We have known each other for a very loooong time because she and her husband Joe were running buddies with my parents back in the day.  Following her very serious vascular surgery last June, she hired me to be her gal Friday.  And so our friendship continued in a much closer fashion for a year.  

We were polar opposites in many ways.  I wore no makeup and dressed like a slob and she put on makeup and matching outfits every day.  We did lunch all over the area and shopped at Walgreens.  She even bought me some makeup and Hempz lotion on one outing.  She had gorgeous red hair that got done at her home by Connie.  In the end, she was taken care of by home health and her daughter Nancy.  I was there overnight on several occasions sleeping on the couch and listening for her footsteps and the walker.  We would wake up early, eat a biscuit from Mel's and watch TV or scroll through Facebook on our separate devices.  Then we would figure out what to do for lunch.

She told me a lot of stories about her past.  Reba worked as a dental hygienist for many years, first for Dr. Talley and then for Dr. Young.  Everybody loved her, including her clients.  Her stories included tales of her and Joe and my parents going on road trips to the White River.  One in particular sticks in my mind.  Daddy was pretty impatient and they had eaten lunch somewhere and Joe had to go.  Like bad.  Daddy pulled over on a field road and Joe did his business but there was no TP to be had.  On the next trip, Joe drove and there was a handmade TP holder on the dash.  

In his later years, Joe and Ernest came down to the riverbed to fish and when I was down there taking pictures I would run across them.  My favorite pic of all time is of those two. I would drive that trusty old Camry down through the fields and find a spot by the slough to explore.  

Reba was always the hostess with the mostest.  When somebody needed a meal, she whipped it up and delivered.  She was adamant that all cabinet doors be closed and I learned to do that during my time at her home.  Plus, organizing the silverware according to pattern. My mind doesn't usually work that way but I did it for her.  She knew exactly how to stack the bowls and soup cups to make it work. 

We talked politics a lot because we are both Dems.  She told me about the yellow dogs back in the day and I feel sure that she is voting from heaven for a more peaceful democracy.  Every time I left her whether at home or hospital or rehab, I said "I love you big."  Her response was always "I love you bigger."  I miss you Reba ^j^