Home again and happy to see our little house on the hill, our dog Jake and those two little boys that call us Gramma and Papa. It was a wonderful time hanging with our new life friends the Dukes. God put them in our lives at just the right time for a much needed break from our life of Caringbridges, as MamaD calls us. Ron and I tend to become part of the lives of many people through a group of friends he sees almost weekly and I on occasion. Tonight was one of those nights. It was a celebration of sorts for some of the friends there. Some were male some were female. I don't see the difference in gender matters as it is a support group and all are surviving from a disease and are there to offer words of encouragement and hope. They tell of their experience, strength, and hope. The hope is the part that gets me everytime. God is the hope they have found. He carries them through day by day and some times hour by hour. I have learned alot from these friends that are truly like my family. They have taught me to not judge my fellow man, as I have not walked in their shoes and never will fully understand the pain they have experienced or the feelings of hopelessness they have encountered. Tonight I wanted to stay home and just hang out here in my house with Jake. I didn't want to be listening to people tell their stories. How selfish of me and how wrong I was. As we went around the table and I heard of how important the family is to someone in recovery from this illness, I knew this is where I needed to be. Someone had lost his wife a few months ago, because of his anger and poor behavior, someone else told old tales of mistreatment of her precious mother, and how today she has forgiven her and is with her, attending games and school events. As they shared their stories I remembered how my own life was effected and my childrens lives over 20 years ago. I was one of those family members and my children and my mother and father were hurt too, but we stood beside our loved one and he found a new way of life. We only experienced it for 9 months before he was taken to heavan, but it was a celebration when he left us, not a day of anger and abandonment. There are people out there who need an ear to listen, they need a dollar to make a phone call from jail, or some diapers for their baby, and maybe a hug to get them through the day. I have to remember that for the Grace of God it could still be me. I will continue to support those friends that are like family and thank God that He keeps me coming back to the meetings on birthday night. As they say It only takes One Day at a Time. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.