FRIEND

Yesterday I had the mundane task of cleaning through my closet.  Putting clothing away, organizing shoes and a pile of jewelry that slipped to the ground and sat in a mini pile of bling.  But what started out as mundane turned quickly to something much more pleasant.  Sorting and organizing my jewelry brought me back to a very special person who touched my life.

For just about 9 years, I worked with a wonderful woman named Helen.  When I first met Helen I think she was about 70 years old and was working part-time.  She was nothing short of a tough cookie and funny enough we called each other "Cookie".  Helen loved to work because she loved people.  And people loved her. 

More often then not, I would wear to work vintage jewelry I had bought while shopping for antiques.  Helen and I ended up sharing an unexpected bond over costume jewelry.  The one day she was wearing this great chunky gold chain with a row of oversized pink pearls.  I loved it!  What did Helen do, she took it off and gave it to me.  Do you remember the necklace sister, I wore it last year for Thanksgiving.  Once I wore a pin with a cluster of diamonds as a necklace and she gave me a much more beautiful vintage one.

Helen often greeted me with a hug if I was just getting back from vacation.  She always gave the kids $1.00 when they came to visit.  Her decorating offices for a holiday was a given and she wasn't shy when it came to singing.

So the simple mundate task of cleaning out my closet brought me back to someone who touched my life and to someone I loved, Helen.  If just for a moment.  Helen retired about a year ago and sadly passed away this summer.  I miss her.  At her funeral, I wore the vintage owl necklace that we found while shopping in Lambertville because I knew she would have loved it.

Tracy