People

(Dedicated to my Friend)

I got a call from my tearful friend yesterday. Amidst the sobs and sniffles, I hear, "I have no People".

We all need people. I remember moving away from my home into a new city alone for the first time. There is a feeling you get when it dawns on you that you have no one. It's really no one in close proximity to you for support or help in your time of need. You feel incredibly vulnerable and alone. You have really scary thoughts like, if I got really sick and couldn't help myself, will anyone look for me? Will anyone miss me? Will anyone care?

I remember there would be weekends that I would leave work on Friday and not talk to a single person until Monday morning. I would sometimes just walk around the house and just talk to myself, so that I could hear something.

When you are alone, you have to build your family. That is so easy to say and so hard to do. You feel like you are imposing upon people. You feel like you are a bother. And it's so hard to ask for help.

But as you ask, as you build support, you gain a family. One day you wake up and you have "People".

My Dear Friend, You Have People!